Colder Weather
by my mermaidia cove
Summary: Now that the war with Pitch is over, the guardians can get back to their normal way of life. Or as normal as you can get with a winter spirit living at the North Pole with old saint Nick (or North) A collection of oneshots and stories all focusing on Jack and North as they live their lives within the Pole. Guaranteed to have plenty father/son moments, sweet and teeth rotting!
1. Chapter 1

_**Oh wow! Within only two hours of posting 'Where Is Your Home?' my email box was full of 65 fanfiction notifications about it! And more were coming the next day! Thanks so much everyone!**_

_**Alright, now down to business. I am going to warn you now that this story is mostly sometimes following a story; sometimes it's a collection of one-shots. But guaranteed to have plenty of Jack/North father/son moments as that seemed to be the ultimate favorite so far and I love it too! **_

_**I own nothing but my own character(s). They'll pop up eventually.**_

It had been almost a year since the defeat of Pitch and his fearsome nightmares. Life after that had gone back to being peaceful and normal. But one thing wasn't as normal as before. After arriving back at the North Pole from defeating Pitch, North had offered a place for Jack to stay as a permanent residence with the jolly old man and since then, things have actually seemed to look much better than before. For the first time in three hundred years, Jack had a complete roof over his head, full meals every day, and a place to call home. Before joining the guardians, Jack spent his days being invisible, sleeping out in the open elements, wandering from place to place, never truly calling anywhere home. But now that he had the North Pole, Jack was happier.

Jack wasn't the only one who had to adjust to this change either. After a few months of Jack living at the Pole, North found that he rather liked the winter spirit's company. No matter how mischievous, curious, playful, and wild he may be. In the short time of Jack "moving in", North discovered that Jack sometimes had a small talent and liking to the process of toy making. Being frozen at the age of a young child, the boy always seemed to understand what kids seemed to like and didn't like about toys and in turn, would occasionally mention to North and he took note of it all. North found the winter spirit's presence seemed to lift his own spirits inside as unbeknownst to Jack; he had filled a spot in the old man's heart that for centuries could not be filled by the children of the world. In the few months Jack had begun to get completely comfortable at the Pole, North had begun to think of Jack as if he were his own and everyday it seemed as though that feeling grew and grew. He never wanted that feeling to go away.

It was now late February, leading into March and almost a year since the fight with Pitch and Jack had seemed to settle in quite nicely at the Pole. It was here that North sat inside his office creating all kinds of toys out of ice when he heard some of the yetis grumbling loudly as a few small thumps and crashes were heard, a siren from a toy nearby blared, and a faint cool breeze was felt. Within a few moments of all the miniature chaos, it was suddenly silent. North quietly chuckled as a quick knock on his office door was heard. North knew exactly who it was before calling out "Come in!"

The door opened and in stepped Jack Frost, staff in hand and a smile playing on his lips. "Hey North!" Jack greeted.

"Hello, Jack," North replied, "Care to explain what you crashed into on the way over here?"

North had to hold in a laugh at the look on Jack's face as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I swear I'll clean it all up!" Jack said, "I didn't break anything this time so that should count for something… right?"

Now North couldn't help but laugh and Jack seemed to calm down a little more, "What can I do for you today, Jack?" North asked turning away from his work and facing Jack who now stood beside him.

"Just thought I should let you know I was planning on going out for a while. Y'know since winter's not gonna last long until spring comes up."

"Is good plan, Jack. Where are you going exactly?"

"I don't know yet. Where ever winter is left I guess."

"Well you still have a few days left but try not to overdo it. That means no last second blizzards."

"Awww man!"

"I mean it, Jack. Blizzards are fine within the middle of the season but not at the very end, you understand, yes?"

"Yes, North."

"Alright, Now go on and enjoy yourself."

Jack's smile beamed as he turned and dashed for the door, he swung open the door and was about to fly out but stopped as he turned and faced North, "Thanks, North. I'll see you later!"

"Try not to be much too late tonight, if you are then please be quiet when coming in. And be careful!"

"I will! Bye!"

And with that, Jack sped off and dashed out the first door he could find, jumping into the air as he did so and ridding the wind as fast as he could. Back in North's office, the old man smiled as he turned back to his ice creations and began the finishing touches.

_**Well there it is guys! What do you think? Sorry it's so short to start off with but they will get longer I promise. So far this is to just help with the sweet Jack/North, father/son sugar rush we all know, love, and crave!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well here it is guys! After waiting and crashing from the sweet sugar rush, here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Fair warning, this chapter is rather dark and I am a cruel person for doing it, it'll get brighter I promise!**_

Jack cheered as he flew as fast as he could high up in the clouds. He knew exactly where he wanted to go for the last few days of winter that was left. The little town of Burgess. It was Saturday and that meant that the kids would be out playing in the remaining snow that was left but Jack could fix that easily. As the town came into view, Jack laughed as he swooped down and with a wave of his staff it began to snow. Within minutes he could hear the laughter of children and he followed the sound to the park where just as he suspected, a group of kids were playing and cheering from the new snow fall. Among those children was Jamie, Jack's first believer. Jack landed a fair distance away as he bent down, scooping a handful of snow into his hand and forming a snowball. He straightened, took aim, and threw the snowball.

SMACK!

The snowball hit Jamie in the back and the little boy stumbled as he turned to find the source of the snowball. His eyes lit up when he saw Jack tossing another snowball up and down in his hand, a wide grin on his face.

"Jack!" Jamie cried happily as he ran over to the winter spirit.

"Hey kiddo," Jack greeted, "You up for a snowball fight? Won't be long until spring comes and then we won't get to do this for a whole year."

"Absolutely!"

Jack laughed as he leaped into the air and Jamie turned in attempt to see him but Jack had disappeared in a flash. "Think fast, kid!" Jamie's face was suddenly caked in snow as he stumbled and fell backwards on his behind. He quickly brushed the snow off his face to find Jack standing a few feet away laughing. Jamie burst into laughter as he grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it at Jack who dodged and took off again, flinging snowballs at as many children possible. Soon every child in the park was involved as snowballs flew in every direction, everyone fending for themselves.

Jack had just thrown another snowball when he felt something hit his leg. He turned to see a little red headed girl, no more than five years old, jumping happily and laughing. She scooped up another handful of snow and tossed it at Jack, only sprinkles of the snow managed to hit him but Jack decided to play along for the little girl's sake. "Would you look at that?" Jack said pretending to sound very surprised and shocked, "You got me! Jack Frost is down!"

With that, Jack flung himself down into the snow on his back in a dramatic "death" as the little girl squealed with delight. Unfortunately for Jack, A few of the children happened to notice Jack and motioned for the others to follow them, snowballs in hand and at the ready. Jack was just about to sit up when he was suddenly bombarded with snowballs. He yelped in surprise and it turned into laughter as the snowballs began to slow. Once he could finally see past all the snow in his face, all the children were laughing as they too were covered in snow from their war.

"That was fun!" one child cheered.

"We totally got you, Jack!" Jamie teased as he doubled over with laughter.

"Yeah you got me alright." Jack said as he began to stand, brushing the snow off of him.

It had been close to perfect timing as most of the children's parents began to call out, saying it was time to go home. The children said their goodbyes and rushed off to meet their parents, the little red headed girl latched onto Jack's leg hugging it as her mother called her over. Jack smiled as he patted the girls head and she ran off to her mother. Soon, all that was left was Jack and Jamie, "Guess you should be getting home too then, huh?" Jack said.

"I guess," Jamie replied a little sadly, "You'll be leaving soon too right? I mean, winter's almost over."

Jack sighed as he bent down to Jamie's level, "Yeah I will, but it won't be for long. I promise I'll be back next winter and you'll be the first to know."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jamie smiled as he hugged Jack and the winter spirit wrapped his arms around the boy, "I'll miss you." Jamie said as they parted.

"I'll come back, don't worry."

Jamie nodded as he turned and began walking off towards home and Jack straightened. At the edge of the park, Jamie stopped and turned as he waved at Jack and he waved back. Once Jamie was out of sight, Jack took off into the air as he realized that it was getting rather late as he pulled his hood up onto his head and began to fly back to the North Pole. The evening proved to be calm and Jack decided to take his time and fly over the forest as he went. He flew over the forest for what felt like only a few hours as he began to near the snow-capped mountains far off in the distance. Jack sighed contently, it was just so peaceful out here, and everything was as it should be.

_**BANG! **_

The sound jolted Jack from his zoned out state as he stopped in midair, searching for the source of the sound. Gun shots! Why were there gun shots out here deep in the forest? It couldn't possibly be hunting season yet, winter was just ending, and there shouldn't be any hunters out at this time of year.

_**BANG! BANG!**_

The sound echoed throughout the forest and Jack took it upon himself to figure out what was going on. He flew off in the direction where he thought he heard the gun shots; he dove into the forest weaving through the trees and slowing down just enough so as not to crash. He stopped and landed when he heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow and voices just ahead. Jack could just barely make out two figures walking towards him and Jack leaped into the nearest tree and perched himself on a high branch as the two figures drew closer.

As they came closer, Jack could see that they were two large men and as suspected they both carried hunting rifles in their hands. One of the men seemed to be carrying a large bundle over his shoulders and Jack guessed it was their successful catch. Jack had no problem hearing them as they were speaking obnoxiously loud and Jack followed them from a distance, quietly jumping from tree to tree as they walked.

"What do you think the pelt will sell for?" the man not carrying the bundle asked.

"More than thousands, my friend!" the other man answered as he patted the bundle on his shoulders. "We'll split the money fifty-fifty, yeah?"

"What? I finished off the thing, I should get more. Sixty-five."

"No you don't! Besides I tracked it, I should get the extra dough."

"Ah just shut it and let's get this thing onto the truck. I'm hungry and I want a beer."

"I'm with you on that."

The two men finally reached their truck as they dumped their prize onto the back and Jack could now see what their prized kill was. A wolf. And a large one at that. Jack's eyes went wide and he felt slightly sick at the sight of the poor dead wolf. Blood had splattered its coat of fur and a clear bullet shot to the side of its head leaked the most blood as it dripped from the beast's head and onto the clear white snow on the ground. Jack's hand clenched into a fist, biting it to keep from screaming.

"So," one man said, "You think this beast's spawn will sell for anything?"

"Nah," the other said, "Won't be worth going back anyways. Let the other beasties of this forest get them. They'll be dead and frozen by now anyways. Let's get outta here."

Spawn? There were wolf pups? Jack's anxiety grew as the men jumped into their truck and drove off. Jack immediately leaped into the air and took off in the direction the men had come from, following the slight drops of blood that had dripped from the poor wolf's head. The trail ended at a disturbed patch of snow mixed with blood, clear signs that this was the spot where the wolf had died. Luckily for Jack, he spotted the wolf's previous tracks and followed them a fair distance away and in a bramble of bushes and dirt, a wolf den could be seen. Jack landed in front of the den and the sight before him seemed just as saddening as the dead wolf.

Four tiny grey bundles of fur lay frozen and dead just outside the den and Jack fell to his knees, his eyes brimming with tears. They couldn't have been more than a week or two old, born early in the year. He knew there was nothing he could do to help them, nothing at all. Except maybe give them a proper burial as best as he could. Jack slowly moved to stand and he moved a few feet away from the den where Jack chose to put the dead pups. With a wave of his staff, the snow cleared to form a three foot wide circle and melted the frost on the dirt below, allowing a soft dirt patch in its place. With the end of his staff, Jack moved the dirt and did his best to dig a hole just deep enough to fit the four tiny pups. Once satisfied with the hole, Jack carefully picked up one of the pups and one by one placed them in the hole together, feeling that if they stayed together they would never be alone. Jack covered the hole and stood over it for a few moments closing his eyes in respect for their lost lives.

It was in this brief silence that Jack suddenly heard the faintest sound coming from the den. He at first thought it was just his imagination but just to be sure, he stepped closer to the den and stood right in front of the entrance, listening. Sure enough not a second later, the tiniest sound of a whimper was heard and Jack immediately fell to his hands and knees, squinting his eyes in attempt to see into the den. His breath almost caught in his throat when a very tiny grey bundle on four tiny wobbly legs stumbled towards the entrance and flopped down on its belly. The tiny pup whined again and the sound was very quiet. Jack was surprised at the fact that it was smaller than the other pups and yet it survived this long. It must be the runt of the litter. He just couldn't leave this little pup here to die, he wouldn't.

Slowly and carefully, Jack reached a hand into the den and scooped the tiny pup in his hand and slowly pulled it out. The pup squirmed slightly in his hand but Jack soon helped support it with his other hand, calming the tiny creature as he held it close to his chest. He managed to control the coldness of his touch so as not to freeze the little pup and the pup began to nuzzle into his blue hoodie. Jack knew he had to act fast now, the little pup wouldn't last long in this cold and Jack wasn't exactly helping no matter how much he controlled his external temperature. The little pup was just small enough to fit in the pouch of Jack's hoodie as it was better than the cold air on the outside and Jack stood, keeping a hand on the pouch of his hoodie making sure the pup didn't fall out. Jack jumped into the air and sped off as fast as he could towards the North Pole.

The trip didn't last long as Jack could travel at an incredible speed but he still had to be careful with this trip because of the tiny wolf pup hidden inside the pouch of his hoodie. He landed in front of the main door and attempted to quietly push it open, its hinges squeaked slightly making Jack flinch at the sound. The hallways were close to dark as the night had grown very late and the only light source was the glow from the Man in the Moon's beams on the pure white snow outside. As Jack inched his way inside, the little pup began to squirm from inside the hoodie pouch and Jack held a hand against the pouch in attempt to calm the pup. Jack tried to be as quiet as possible as he practically tip toed through the halls. He had no idea what North would think of the little pup and Jack didn't want to risk being caught seeing as he was already way too late getting back in the first place and finding the pup had made him even later than North preferred.

If he could just reach his room, he would be able to hide the pup for at least a day or two and by then Jack thought he might be able to come up with a good explanation. Hopefully. He was almost there; his room was just around the corner and at the end of the hall. North's room was unfortunately at the beginning of the hall and within a few feet of reaching the corner. Jack heard North's bedroom door open and Jack immediately dashed back the way he came and hid himself in the shadows as he watched North emerge from his room. The old man yawned as he tightened the strap on his night robe and lazily wandered off towards the kitchen, probably for a glass of warm milk or something. As soon as North was far enough away, Jack quietly but hurriedly made his way back up the hallway and rounded the corner. He let out a small breath that he didn't realize he was holding as he made his way down the hallway towards his room which was now in view at the end of the hall. He was halfway down the hall now, he was going to make it, he-

"Jack?"

Jack froze to a stop, which was ironic for him but that wasn't the main focus of his thoughts at the moment. Instead his main thought was _CRAP! _

Jack knew it was North behind him but the winter spirit dared not turn around. If he did, then North would see the bulge in his hoodie pouch and would make Jack reveal the little pup. "Jack, you are just getting in?" North asked as the old man stood at the entrance of the hallway.

"Uh… yeah," Jack replied, still not turning around, "Just got back. Really tired. I'm just gonna go to bed I think."

"You do know how late it is, yes?"

"Yeah… sorry, had a big snowball fight with some kids, lasted for a long time."

At least that part was true, Jack didn't deny that. Now he just wanted to run to his room, shut the door and get the little pup to safety, but the boy just couldn't move, his feet wouldn't move from their spot on the floor and stayed firmly planted there. Jack's heart began to pound a little faster as he heard North's heavy footsteps come closer.

"Your hood is up, Jack," North said, and Jack felt North's hand at the back of his head as he gently tugged the hood down from the winter spirit's head. "You are inside; hood is down when you are inside."

"Sorry," Jack replied it took everything he could to not sound panicked. Just then, the little pup whined and squirmed within the pouch of Jack's hoodie and Jack quickly tried to calm it by placing his hand back over the pouch, trying to make the tiny animal keep still. But unfortunately, North heard it.

"What was that?" North asked.

"My stomach!" Jack quickly said, a little too quickly "I, uh… missed dinner I guess. I'll just get breakfast in the morning!"

"Jack, what are you hiding?"

"Nothing! Can I just go to bed now?"

"Jack, turn around."

Jack's heart pounded inside his chest, he was afraid it might even burst it was pounding so hard. He felt North's hand on his shoulder and he lightly tugged to make Jack turn around and face him and jack found himself obeying. He hung his head and stared at the floor as North eyed the boy's hoodie and bulged pouch which slightly squirmed under Jack's hand.

"Jack, what is in your hoodie?" North asked, slightly firm but gentle.

Jack bit his bottom lip to keep it from trembling as he reached into the pouch and carefully withdrew the tiny wolf pup which now began to whine. Jack held the tiny pup in his arms as he dared to look up at North. The old man sighed as he looked down at the young winter spirit cradling the little wolf pup in his arms.

"North…" Jack began, he couldn't control the slight shake in his voice, "I can explain…"

North waved a hand so as to quiet the boy, "No need to explain for now, Jack. That can wait until morning. Let's get this little one fixed up shall we? I bet it's belly is hungry."

Jack was stunned, "Really?"

"Of course, you think I am that cold hearted? No!"

North laughed and Jack smiled as North placed a hand on Jack's back and began guiding him towards the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, North walked over to the large fridge and pulled out a carton of milk as Jack took a seat on a tall stool by a counter. "Is very small pup, you will have to bottle feed it." North said.

"How do I do that?" Jack asked, "I've never fed a wild animal before."

"Is easy!" North replied as he scrounged the cupboards and drawers and with an enthusiastic "Ah ha!" pulled out a baby bottle from a far shelf. Jack was about to question why North had a random baby bottle in his kitchen but North seemed to answer his question before the boy even uttered a word. "When I first became guardian, I had a fantasy of having a family here someday so I stocked up on the essentials. Like baby bottle! Obviously that was long time ago."

Jack watched as North poured some milk into a glass measuring cup and placed it in the microwave for a minute or so. Once the milk was warmed up just right, North carefully poured the milk into the baby bottle, fastening the lid. "Hold the bottle up and angled like so," North instructed as he placed the bottle in Jack's hand and helped the boy adjust it to sit where it needed to be. Upon smelling the warm milk, the pup whined eagerly as North helped Jack place the tip in the pup's mouth and the little pup immediately began suckling and drinking the warm milk.

"You see?" North said, "Easy!"

Jack simply just smiled as the pup continued to drink happily. As the pup fed, North looked up at Jack, "What do you intend to do with this little one?" North asked.

"I…" Jack began, "I… was kind of hoping that maybe I could… keep it? For just a little while at least!"

North chuckled, "Jack, you have a heart bigger than my belly and then some. But a pup like this takes a great deal of care."

"… I know."

Silence fell between the two as the little wolf pup finished it's full of milk, Jack placing the bottle on the counter, and the wolf pup yawned.

"I think the little one has the right idea," North chuckled, "Come, we must all get to bed and sleep now. We will speak more about this tomorrow."

Jack nodded as he slid off the stool and followed North back to their rooms. North bid Jack good night as Jack opened the door to his bedroom and walked in, closing the door behind him. He set the little wolf pup down in the middle of the bed for a few moments as Jack opened his closet and dug out a few extra blankets and a pillow. He then dug a little deeper into the closet and pulled out a cardboard box just big enough for the little pup for the time being. Jack placed the pillow in the bottom of the box and then lined the edged with the blankets making it as warm as he possibly could for the pup. With that done, Jack carefully picked the pup up and placed it in the box and then placed the box by his bed. With the pup all settled, Jack pulled back the covers of his own bed and climbed in, exhaustion finally kicking in as he leaned his staff up against the bed post and fell back against his pillows. Jack rolled over so he could see over the edge of his bed at the little pup and to no surprise the wolf pup was already curled up and fast asleep. Jack smiled as he shifted comfortably and soon he too fell asleep.

_**So what you think? I've been playing with this idea for a while now and decided that it could definitely work. That's it for now folks but keep your eyes out for the next chapter coming soon!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Another chapter successfully updated! I must say thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm so happy that you all like this so much! I actually have no idea how to "properly" take care of a wolf pup but I'm gonna try my best. If you know anything, please tell me! Onto the next chapter!**_

A whine could be heard almost at the exact moment the sun could be seen rising above the mountains. Jack groaned as he attempted to open his groggy eyes and untangle himself from the bed sheets. The whining continued and grew louder and Jack silently cursed to himself as he struggled to get out of bed. His attempts proved futile as he suddenly slipped off the edge of the bed and landed with a _thump_ on the floor and miraculously rolling out of the bed sheets and stopping as he lay on his stomach.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Jack groaned but the whining continued.

Jack groaned again this time louder as he pushed himself up onto his knees and reached for the box beside his bed. He pulled the box towards him and peered inside, the tiny wolf pup looked up at him and was quiet for a split second before erupting into a fit of whines begging to be fed.

"Alright, alright…" Jack tiredly said as he pushed himself up onto his feet, "I'll get you your milk, just please quiet down."

The pups loud whines turned into quiet whimpers as Jack carefully lifted the pup out of the box and cradled it to his chest with one hand and he grabbed his staff with the other and headed towards the door. He managed to get the door open as he quietly made his way down the hall, knowing that it was much too early for North to be up yet and Jack even seemed a little surprised that the pup's loud whining didn't rouse the jolly old man. Jack shrugged the thought off as he made his way towards the kitchen and upon entering, leaned his staff against a nearby counter; he opened the fridge, pulled out the milk, and heated it up in the microwave having paid close attention to the procedures North had done last night. The little pup squirmed slightly in Jack's hold, clearly impatient and wanting the milk.

"Calm down," Jack whispered to the pup, "It's coming, just be patient for a little while."

Finally, the milk was warmed up and with one hand; Jack poured the milk into the baby bottle, fastened the lid and brought the bottle to the eager pup's mouth. Almost instantly the pup latched its mouth onto the bottle and began drinking the milk. Jack sighed in relief as he moved to sit on the tall stool by the counter and continued to feed the pup. After a while, the pup finally had its full and Jack set the bottle down and considered if it was worth going back to bed for a few more hours. Then again, what was the point? The pup had woken him up at the crack of dawn (literally) and he had now been up for a good hour and a half. Why not start the morning off with some breakfast instead? Deciding on that plan, Jack first wandered back down to his room to retrieve the pup's box and brought it out into the kitchen and set it down on the floor out of the way but still where Jack could keep an eye in it. He placed the pup carefully inside the box and the pup at first began to whine but soon quieted as it curled up inside the box.

With his hands now free, Jack immediately headed over to a nearby cupboard and pulled out a box of frosted flakes cereal, he grabbed a bowl, dumped the cereal into it and splashed the remaining cold milk onto it. He picked up a spoon and settled onto his tall stool at the counter again and took a spoonful of the sugary breakfast cereal. As he ate, a small whimper or whine could be heard from the pup and Jack would glance over at it making sure it was still ok. Jack took his time eating his cereal as he was also thinking about how he was going to explain everything from last night to North. The old man had said they would talk about it the next day but now that next day was today, Jack was honestly very nervous about it.

Jack was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even notice North's bedroom door open and North emerged fully dressed and ready for the day. North walked down the hallway and began heading for the kitchen and when he entered, he spotted Jack sitting at the counter slightly hunched over a bowl of cereal and seemingly deep in thought as he gradually ate. "Good morning, Jack." North said and Jack jumped slightly as he turned and faced North.

"Oh hey North. 'Morning." Jack replied and he turned back to his cereal.

"Where is the little pup?"

Jack pointed to the box on the floor, "Right here."

"Ah. You fed it, no?"

"I did."

"Very good."

"You didn't hear it whining this morning? Y'know, at the crack of dawn?"

"I heard no such thing."

"Huh… Lucky you then."

North chuckled as he began to prepare himself a mug of hot chocolate, "As I said last night Jack. A pup like this takes a great deal of care. And that includes rising at dawn to simply feed it."

"I got that part."

North nodded as he finished making the hot chocolate and took a satisfying gulp of the hot beverage. "Once you are done eating, could you come by my office? And bring the little one with you as well."

Jack remained silent, unsure of what to say and he just simply nodded and went back to finishing his cereal. North soon left with his mug of hot chocolate in hand and Jack was left alone with his thoughts again knowing exactly what North wanted to talk about. He managed to finish his cereal and he placed the empty bowl and spoon into the sink and rinsed them off, making a mental note to wash them later if he got the chance. A quiet whine from the pup roused Jack from his thoughts as he walked over to the box and scooped the pup into his arms. He knew he would have to face North eventually, there was no hiding from it. It was way too late for that now. So with the pup secure and comfortable in his arms, Jack grabbed his staff on the way out of the kitchen and headed towards North's office.

The journey to North's office was usually short and completely relaxed and calm walk. But today, it was long and stressful and Jack was almost about to panic. Upon reaching the door to North's office, Jack shifted the pup so as to support it with one arm and with the other he raised it up to the door, pausing briefly to take a deep breath.

_Well, here goes nothing, _Jack thought to himself as he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" North's voice said from inside.

Jack did his best to calm himself as he grasped the door handle and pushed the door open and stepping inside. North stood by his desk, adding some finishing touches to another one of his ice creations as Jack closed the door behind him and waited for North to finish with the ice. It was only within a few moments that North put his tools down and gestured for Jack to sit in one of the two comforter chairs he had in his office. The two chairs faced across from each other and Jack found himself obeying North's silent gesture as he sat down, leaning his staff against the wall and holding the little wolf pup close to him.

North sat down as well in the comforter chair across from Jack and it was silent between the two for a moment before North spoke, "Jack, I want you to tell me what happened last night when you found this little pup."

Jack took a deep breath, "I had just finished a snowball fight with Jamie and some other kids…"

North was patiently silent as Jack told him everything from hearing the gunshots to getting caught by North in the hallway. When Jack was finished, North remained quiet for a few moments and Jack's heart began to pound, fearing the worst.

Finally, North spoke, "Jack, this little pup is a wild animal and-"

"Please don't make me send it back!" Jack suddenly yelped, cutting North off. "… I can't send it back."

"That is not what I was going to say, Jack," North said and he waited a brief moment in case Jack rapidly spoke again before continuing, "I was going to say… it is a wild animal and most likely would not have survived the night without you. That is one lucky little pup. May I?"

Jack then realized that North was asking for the pup and at first he didn't want the little pup out of his grasp but he carefully handed the pup to North, which squirmed slightly but was in no risk of falling from North's massive hands. North looked the tiny pup over and eventually settled it into one of his hands, which the pup fit perfectly into. "I was also going to say," North said as he gently stroked the pups head with his index finger, "That the decision to either keep or let the pup go would be up to you. I have no objections. But judging from your little outburst, it is clear what your decision is."

North chuckled as he handed the pup back to Jack who now had a surprised, but happy, look on his face, "Really?" Jack said, "I… I can keep it?"

"More precisely, you can keep _her_."

North was suddenly caught by surprise as Jack leaped from his chair, locking one arm as best he could around North's shoulders and neck, his other arm holding the tiny pup securely. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, North!" the boy cried.

North chuckled as he wrapped one arm around Jack, "You are welcome, Jack."

The two parted and the smile on Jack's face melted North's heart to mush. "Go on now," North said, "You have much to do in order to look after the little one."

"Absolutely!" Jack said cheerfully as he grabbed his staff and headed for the door, stopping to look back at North for brief moment with that heartwarming smile and finally rushed out the door. North remained in his chair for a while, attempting to take in what had just happened before him. There were many little times when North had performed as a parent to the young winter spirit. Warning him to be careful when he went out, ensuring he ate all his meals, scolding him if he crashed into a particular tower of toys, had peeked into his bedroom at night ensuring the boy was having a restful sleep, even setting the 'no hood on while inside' rule! But now as he sat in his office he never felt more like a parent, like a father. North sighed contently as he stood from the comforter chair and headed over to his desk to work on another ice creation toy.

Out in the halls of the workshop, Jack smiled as he held the pup in his arms. "Did you hear that?" Jack said excitedly as he lifted the pup level to his face, "I get to keep you! I've never had a pet before anyways. This is great!"

He lowered the pup back down to his chest and it, she, nuzzled into his hoodie. "I guess if I get to keep you, I might as well name you." Jack said as he entered his bedroom and flopped down on the bed on his back, letting the pup rest on his stomach. Jack thought for a few moments but he then began to grow puzzled and he lifted his head slightly to look at the tiny pup, "What should I even call you?"

The pup simply inched her way up from Jack's stomach and wobbled on her little legs to the top of his chest, she sniffed at Jack for a brief second before her tiny tongue licked the tip of his nose. "Hey!" Jack said chuckling, "Nipping people's noses is my job."

Jack's head flopped back down onto bed, the pup shifting and occasionally sniffing as she nestled in his hoodie. As Jack attempted to think of a perfect name, he gently stroked the pup with one hand while the other rested behind his head. It seemed like almost forever that Jack lay deep in thought and after what felt like hours later, he suddenly had it! Jack held the pup carefully as he sat up and placed the pup on the bed; he turned and looked at the little pup.

"Y'know what?" Jack said, "I had a sister before, I saved her from falling through ice. Her name was Pippa. I saved her then and I now saved you… I think the name fits perfectly. Pippa."

The pup, now named Pippa, quietly yipped almost as if in approval and Jack smiled as he stroked the wolf pup's head.

_**Yay! Jack has a new pet! What do you guys think? That is his sister's name right? It's the majority name that I have seen of his sister so hopefully I got it right. See you next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey everybody! Thanks so much for all your reviews and helpful information, it really does help guys! On with the story!**_

Over the next week, Jack was able to put almost all of his daily efforts into looking after the wolf pup, Pippa. Seeing as winter was over in most places, he could focus more on the care of Pippa. Jack continued to bottle feed her as he sat by a large window sill which over the past few months of first moving in had turned into 'his' window sill and was also now the spot where he always sat and fed Pippa. North offered some help by letting Jack have one of the extra stalls in the reindeer barn so that Pippa could do her… business and there wouldn't be any accidents in the workshop halls. Pippa even managed to still wake Jack up at the crack of dawn every single morning, eager for her breakfast of warm milk. Jack endured it all. He had promised North that he would be responsible for all of Pippa's feedings, cleaning, brushing, training, and picking up afterwards.

So far Jack had kept to his word as the days went by and Jack was now seated at his window sill with Pippa in his arms and was just finishing her afternoon meal of warm milk. "Whoa slow down, girl," Jack said as Pippa practically chugged the milk, "No need to be so greedy. It's not like I'm going to drink it. The elves might though, gotta be careful around those guys."

Pippa finally released her hold on the bottle and with some gentle rubbing on her back, the little pup burped. Jack chuckled, "I guess that's a good sign that you're full."

As Jack placed the bottle down next to him, he heard a Russian voice calling from far down the hall. "Jack!" North called, "Come! You must see this new toy design I just created!"

"Be right there!" Jack called back and he stood with Pippa in his arms and soon placed the pup inside her cardboard box/bed which had been sitting nearby and Pippa began to whine. "Sorry girl. I gotta go but be good. I'll be back in a minute."

Jack patted Pippa's small head before running off down the halls towards the sound of North's voice. To say the least, Pippa was not entirely thrilled with the idea of being left behind. The instant Jack was completely out of sight and his bare footsteps could no longer be heard across the floor, Pippa began to whine again. When Jack did not return to her whining calls, Pippa began yipping and jumping up against the wall of the box. This continued on for at least five minutes before Pippa did one final jump and the box toppled downward and thumped against the floor as the blankets inside scattered and Pippa slipped onto her belly. The pup seemed to barely notice the "damage" as she stood on her little legs and shook herself before attempting to dash off in the direction where the winter spirit went.

Unbeknownst to the small incident was Jack and North as the two made adjustments to the jolly man's latest creation. A race track made of ice sat on the desk in North's office and two ice race cars sat nearby. "This is awesome!" Jack said and he pointed his staff at a section of the track and as he spoke, ice began to take form and design onto the track, "If you put a loop here… and maybe a jump there… you've got yourself a challenge."

North laughed, "Let us test this challenge then."

Immediately, Jack's smile beamed as he quickly grabbed one of the race cars and North grabbed the other. They placed their cars at the beginning of the track but didn't let go just yet as North started the countdown, "On your mark, get set… GO!"

They both instantly let go of their cars and the ice vehicles sped down the track, each matching the others speed equally as Jack and North cheered their cars on. Just as the two cars neared the jump in the track, North's car suddenly sped up passing Jack's car and was the first to launch off the jump followed by Jack's car not long after. Jack caught his car in his hands as it fell undamaged. North's car on the other hand was even luckier as small jets had appeared on each side of the car and began flying around the room.

"Looks like I win!" North chuckled.

"No fair!" Jack said as he too laughed, "You cheated."

North just simply laughed but his glory was soon deflated as a yeti burst through the door, knocking the flying race car to the ground with a crash. North's laughing was replaced with a shocked gasp followed by the shriek of the yeti as Jack smirked. "Cool, I win." Jack said.

North turned and glared at the yeti, "how many times have I told you to knock?"

The yeti argued back in a language of growls that Jack did not understand but North seemed to as his expression turned from frustration to confusion. "What do you mean the ribbons mixed with the tinsel?"

The yeti growled an explanation and North groaned, "Alright, alright. I am coming," North turned to face Jack, "I'll be just a few minutes."

"That's ok, "Jack said as he set his race car down onto the desk, "I've gotta check on Pippa anyways."

North nodded as he followed the yeti out of his office and Jack followed out as well but as North went down one end of the hallway, Jack went in the opposite direction towards where he had left Pippa in her box. Jack began whistling a random tune as he settled his staff against one of his shoulders and his free hand placed inside the pouch of his hood. He rounded the corner towards his windowsill where the box was supposed to be sitting nearby. Jack stopped mid tune as he spotted the box, except it wasn't upright as when he had left it with Pippa inside. Instead it lay toppled in its side, the blankets scattered, and Pippa nowhere in sight.

All Jack could think was _oh crap!_

A sudden and loud crash was heard far down the hall and along with it "JACK!"

_OH CRAP!_

Jack spun and dashed as fast as he could down the hallway towards the sound of North's voice, picking up speed as his feet left the ground and he flew down the hallway. He turned the corner and screeched to a stop hovering in the air for a moment as he saw the sight before him. North stood facing the winter spirit with his tattooed arms crossed, a stern look on his face, and multiple strands of tinsel and ribbons hung off of the top of his head. A stray strand of ribbon fell down in front of North's face and he 'huffed' the strand away before speaking.

"Care to explain, Jack?" North said as he stepped to the side and behind the usually jolly man (though not so jolly right now) were two elves as they attempted to pull away strands of ribbon and tinsel from a certain little grey pup whose jaws had a firm hold on the other end of the tinsel and ribbons. Multiple boxes that used to contain separate ribbons and tinsel now lay toppled and tangled across the floor and a few boxes that had been sitting on the shelves had been knocked off, explaining the amount of ribbons and tinsel on North's head.

Jack lowered himself down as his feet touched the floor and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he somehow let out a nervous laugh. North raised an eyebrow at Jack and the immortal teen quieted and attempted to move awkwardly around North to get to Pippa, ribbons still held firmly in her little jaw. "I'll just, uh… get out of your way then."

North stared at Jack with his stern look and crossed arms the entire time as Jack maneuvered around the spilled and tangled ribbons and tinsel and managed to scoop Pippa up into his arms. The two elves still hung onto the ribbon and tinsel in Pippa's mouth but soon let go as they dropped to the floor with a jingling thump. "So…" Jack began, "I'll see you later then."

North still didn't say a word as he held his stern look and Jack took this as the perfect time to leave. Right now. He quickly stepped passed North once more and attempted to walk at a steady pace but that didn't last as he quickened and flew back down the hallway. As soon as Jack was out of sight, North sighed as he ripped the ribbons and tinsel off his head and tossed it to the ground. He turned to a few yetis who had been watching the entire incident nearby, "Get this cleaned up." North said as he headed back towards his office and shut the door.

Elsewhere Jack had spent most of the walk down the hallway picking bits of tinsel and ribbon out of Pippa's mouth and fur as she had bits of it all over her, she would need a good brushing later. "Sheesh, only four weeks old and your almost as bad as me!" Jack said as he flicked a small patch of tinsel off of Pippa's left ear. "I can't imagine what kind of trouble you might get into when you're bigger… Aw crap, North is so gonna kill me." Jack thought for a moment before getting an idea and he quickened his pace down the hall.

As he finished picking tinsel and ribbons out of Pippa's fur, Jack began to near the globe room as the giant globe sparkled with tiny gold lights, each representing a child that believed in them. Jack admired the globe for a moment before heading over to a nearby book shelf that stood tall on one side of the room. Jack scanned the bookshelf with his eyes as he set Pippa down on the floor and glided up to a higher shelf, tracing a finger along the spines of the books. He plucked one book off the shelf, opened it and scanned a few pages, "Damn, nothing," Jack said as he tossed the book over his shoulder, Pippa yipped as she dodged the falling book and Jack grabbed another book repeating the process over and over grabbing books and tossing them over his shoulder, "Nope… Nadda… That's not it… Not in here… Oh wait, maybe this one! Ah, never mind…"

After searching the shelves and creating scattered piles of books on the floor, Jack finally found what he was looking for as he opened yet another book and scanned the pages. "Yes!" Jack cried as he flew back down to the floor with the book in hand. Pippa dashed towards Jack as the winter spirit sat cross legged with his back against the book shelf and he lay his staff down beside him. Pippa crawled onto Jack's lap and settled herself in as Jack opened the book to the first page. '_The Wildlife and Wilderness of the Forest' _the title of the book read and Jack searched through the book.

"This must have something in here." Jack said as he flipped through the pages passing by the chapters about deer, moose, elk, insects, and even specific plants and trees. He soon came upon the section of predators and scanned the pages passing the bears, cougars, and mountain lions. "Here! _'Wolves and the pack'_ sounds useful." And with that, Jack kept his nose stuck in the book reading and memorizing every word and fact possible.

By the end of the work day, North was quite satisfied with today's work load (other than the ribbon and tinsel incident) considering that Christmas ended almost three months ago and the demand to make toys wasn't as busy allowing North to take some time to relax. A good way to do that was to sit in his favorite big red comfy chair in the globe room with a plate of cookies and milk by the fire. North had already made a trip to the kitchen and was headed towards the globe room with a tray of cookies in one hand and a large glass of milk in the other and was not entirely prepared for the sight before him. Sitting on the floor cross legged and with his back against the bookshelf was Jack with his nose stuck in a book and Pippa on his lap and his staff lay on the floor beside him. Another thing North noticed was the piles of books scattered across the floor nearby as if someone had just tossed them to the floor unneeded. Another small pile of books sat in a neat pile next to Jack much unlike the other books scattered everywhere and North seemed to be slightly baffled at the sight. North at first raised an eyebrow at Jack but the young winter spirit hadn't even noticed the big jolly man's arrival.

North then quietly chuckled as he set his treats down on a side table and stepped towards Jack who still continued to read, oblivious to the world. "Jack?" North began, "Jack! Hello, Jack!"

Jack's head snapped up slightly startled "Huh? What?" Pippa had fallen asleep in Jack's lap and she too opened her eyes as her head came up.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading, what else does it look like?"

"Don't get snappy, I was simply curious. What are you reading?"

Jack smirked as he held up the book in his hands, "This book."

"Jack…" North warned as he crossed his arms.

"Okay I'm sorry, I was reading about wolves. Thought I should figure out how they work and stuff so I can look after Pippa better."

North smiled as he uncrossed his arms, "Is very smart, Jack. I myself am going to settle in my chair and have some cookies. Would you like one?"

"Sure."

Jack closed his book and shifted Pippa to place her on the floor as Jack stood and followed North over to the tray filled with cookies. Jack picked up a thick chocolate chip cookie and took a bite out of it as North picked up a few cookies and moved to settle into his big comfy chair near the fire. "So Jack," North said "What did you learn from the books?"

Pippa scampered over to North who chuckled as he bent over and gently scooped the pup up and onto his lap and Jack took another bite out of the cookie before answering, "Did you know wolves have been around for almost four million years? They've evolved obviously but still! Pippa will probably grow to be at least seventy five pounds, though she'll look a lot bigger because their coats are so thick. And guess what? When she's bigger, she'll be able to run up to eight to ten miles per hour. I won't let her get into the workshop by then, don't worry."

North nodded, "Sounds like you've been hard at work."

Jack smiled as he finished his cookie and moved to collect the book he had been currently reading and he turned to face North who now began to gently scratch the top of Pippa's head, the pup looking very content. "You don't happen to have any more books about wolves, do you?" Jack asked.

"Possibly in the library," North replied, "But enough research for now. The little one will need her next meal very soon."

"Okay, I'll go do that then."

Jack was just about to dash away down the hallway but North stopped him, "Jack! If you are going to feed the pup…" North lifted Pippa from his lap, "Take the pup with you."

"Oh right." Jack said as he took Pippa from North and was now allowed to dash down the hallway towards the kitchen. North chuckled as he lifted a cookie to his mouth and ate it contently.

_**Well that worked out well I think. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Until next time!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I hope you guys are enjoying this so far! I've realized that this has gone on for about three whole chapters but this shouldn't take very much longer. There will be plenty more stuff happening and I hope that when I get there you will all enjoy it! **_

As the days passed, North began to find that he was catching Jack in the library more and more as books began piling higher and higher on a nearby desk. Once there was no more room on the desk, the books then began getting stacked on the floor either next to the desk or the current wall of book shelves Jack had previously looked through. The library itself began with the entrance of large mahogany doors with golden handle bars and the trimmings of the doors were lined with gold coloring as well. Inside both the walls left and right were filled with towering bookshelves and were equally filled with books of all colors, shapes, and sizes (before Jack scrounged them all that is). At the end wall was a stone fireplace with a complete set of comfy chairs and a wooden coffee table in the center of the chairs. The large wooden office-like desk (now covered in books) sat to the right of the fireplace and chairs and a single wooden chair sat by the desk.

North had wandered into the library multiple times after the day's work was done to find Jack reading with Pippa either resting on his lap or wandering nearby. Jack was always in a different spot each time North found him, sitting cross legged on the floor against the shelves, atop the desk before it was entirely covered, perched on his staff, laying on his stomach in the middle of the floor, and sometimes even in one of the comfy chairs in whatever position possible.

That evening, North pushed open the doors of the library and scanned the room looking for the young winter spirit who seemed to be nowhere in sight. North almost turned around to check elsewhere for the boy but stopped as he suddenly spotted a pair of brown pant legs with two bare feet dangling over the edge of an armrest to one of the comfy chairs which had its back faced towards North. North sauntered over to the chair and quietly peered over the top of the chair to see a once again oblivious Jack Frost sitting sideways in the comfy chair with his legs and feet dangling over an armrest, Pippa curled up asleep on his stomach, and yet another open book covering Jack's face from view as he held the book in his hands and his staff leaning against the other end of the chair.

North cleared his throat so as to get the boy's attention and Jack quickly lowered his book and was met with North's bearded face looking down at him. "Oh hey," Jack said as he smiled, "Didn't hear you."

"I have noticed," North replied, "You will be putting all the books back in their rightful place, yes?"

Jack glanced over at the few piles of books he had searched through, "Oh right. Yeah I'll put everything back, no worries."

"Good, have you found everything you need?"

"I think so. Hey North? There's meat in the kitchen right?"

"I believe so, yes. Why?"

Jack turned the book around so North could see the pages, "It says here that pups should be introduced to meat and weaned off milk at the latest of five weeks old. Pippa is just now four weeks; I don't just give her a slab of raw steak do I?"

"Of course not," North took the book from Jack's hands and read the information on the pages, "We will collect some meat and follow what the book tells you, no?"

Jack nodded as North returned the book to him and Pippa began to wake up from her nap on Jack's stomach. Pippa squirmed and yipped as Jack managed to sit up and set Pippa on the floor. Pippa then began prancing in excitement around North's feet and the jolly old man laughed, "It is near feeding time, no?" North said, "You shall begin the meat process tonight."

Jack nodded as he stood from his chair, gathering the one book under his arm and heading towards the door, calling Pippa as he went and the little pup dashed after him. North watched the winter spirit and the pup leave before turning back to survey the library, towers of books still sitting nowhere near their proper place and North found himself chuckling as he then turned and headed for the door himself. He made a mental note to remind Jack to put away all of the books tonight before going to bed. Considering how many piles of books lay around the large room, the job may take a while.

The evening proved to be interesting as North managed to find some ground beef which he then gave to Jack who placed a small chunk of meat onto a plate. North watched with slight amusement as he stood off to the side with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in hand, trying not to laugh, as Jack tried to give Pippa the ground beef. The immortal boy started with giving some of the milk to Pippa and then taking it away after some time and he tried to give a pinch of meat to the hungry pup. She obviously didn't want it as she squirmed and yelped in Jack's arms trying to reach the bottle of milk and Jack tried to keep a hold of her but her intense squirming made that very hard. Pippa finally broke free as she reached the bottle and helped herself greedily to the warm milk inside. Jack groaned as he reached for the pup and allowed her only a few minutes more of the milk before taking it away and trying again. And again. And again. And again.

This time North couldn't help but laugh as Pippa once more outsmarted the winter spirit and drank the milk once more. It was only a short minute afterwards that Pippa detached her jaws from the bottle and seemed to look at it oddly and she pawed at the bottle. The little pup was confused, normally there was plenty more milk than that in the bottle. But it was now empty and she was still hungry.

"Now you have no choice," Jack said as he scooped Pippa up once more and held up a pinch of meat in front of her, "No more milk unless you try this."

Pippa whined as she looked fondly at the now empty bottle of milk and back to Jack with the meat still in hand. Pippa soon stuck her little pink tongue out, licking the pinch of meat as if to taste it before allowing a nibble of meat into her mouth. "Finally!" Jack heavily sighed and North laughed once more. "I put less milk than usual in the bottle. The book says to gradually lessen the milk and increase the meat."

"Congratulations, Jack," North said, "Her first taste of meat."

"I'm just happy I don't have to do it the way wild wolves do."

"And that would be?"

"The older wolves eat, then they barf it all up, and then the pups eat it. It's all in the books. Gross, huh?"

"Immensely."

Over the next couple of days Jack continued this feeding process with Pippa, the first day or two struggling the same as before. Jack had lessened the milk each feeding time, forcing Pippa to eat a little meat each and every time. The little pup also began to learn that if she ate the meat then she would get the milk. By the end of the week, Pippa had a consistent diet of a hand full of meat and a half full bottle of milk, the milk lessening by a quarter cup every few days.

The transition seemed to work very well for Pippa, she seemed to have slightly more energy and was moving around much more and was even more curious to discover her surroundings. Lucky for Jack he had to keep the pup in sight and was now always running after or with her through the halls of the workshop, both of them having the childish energy inside them. There was the occasional time that Pippa would be running through the halls and Jack had attempted to call her to stop. But to no avail as a bustle of yetis would come extremely close to stepping on the pup had Jack not swooped down as fast as he could to scoop her up into his arms at just the right moment.

It was within one of those moments as North had been witness to the close incident and had suggested that teaching Pippa commands was probably a good idea.

"She is growing fast; she must learn and be trained while she is still young." North said as he and Jack walked through the workshop, Pippa nestled in Jack's arms for safety reasons.

"Yeah, I know," Jack said, "Does it have to be really simple or can I change it around a bit?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what if I taught her commands in a different language or something?"

"A different language you say? Could be possible, yes."

"You speak Russian right? What if I taught her commands in Russian?"

North had to almost hide his slight stumble in his steps at Jack's sudden request, he hadn't been expecting that but he wasn't rejecting it either. "So you wish to learn my first language?" North asked.

"I guess so, just the commands I would need basically. Your first language is Russian and your second language is English?"

"Ah, English is only the beginning of that, my boy! How else do I understand the yetis while they work?"

"Good point."

North chuckled as he placed a massive hand on Jack's shoulder and began leading him towards his office where the jolly old man wrote down as many dog commands as possible and handed the list to Jack. The young winter spirit had set Pippa down as he studied the paper with frowned eyes in concentration. North stood next to Jack, standing over his shoulder should the winter spirit need any help with the words.

"Wait, what's this one?" Jack asked pointing to a Russian word on the paper.

"_Sajish_, it means 'sit'." North answered.

"And this one? How do I say this one?"

"_Nyet_, which means 'no'. Try that one, is easy word."

"_Stoy_, that means 'stop' right?"

"It can also be used for 'stay' as well."

"Cool! I totally got this! How's this?" Jack almost squinted at the paper trying to pronounce the next word, "I… jay… shubaha…"

"Now you just speak gibberish. Is _iji shudah_. Means 'come here'."

"… Oh."

"Keep trying."

Jack sighed heavily as he studied the list of commands once more.

_**Well there you go guys! Another chapter done! I'm sorry this took so long to get going but life likes to get in my way most of the time. In order to make up for the lost time and probably more lost time to get the next chapter going, I will give you a brief sneak peek into what will be the next chapter. Do with it what your imaginations will but only I can determine the chapters' fate and it will be awesome!**_

_**Ready? Here it is! The guardians have an update meeting and Pippa gets in the way. A certain bushy tailed guardian IS NOT pleased!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Here it is! The next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**_

Laughter could be heard along with giddy yips and barks throughout the workshop as Jack raced through the hallways with Pippa close at his heels. Even when Jack's feet left the ground, Pippa still kept pace with the winter spirit as she occasionally leaped in attempt to reach for Jack. A yeti began to come around the corner carrying a crate full of toy robots as Jack flew unbeknownst towards the yeti.

The yeti had just enough time to growl a warning as Jack glanced up and swerved to the side, "Whoa! Heads up!" Jack said as he flew past.

The yeti took a quick glare at Jack before moving to take another step but suddenly jumped back as Pippa dashed in front of the yeti, barking as she went. The yeti grumbled as he checked the contents of the crate for any damage and upon finding none, continued on his way with a relieved sigh.

Jack laughed as Pippa attempted to jump up to him once more but she still couldn't quite reach. "Come on, girl! You almost made it! _Prigeht_" Jack said using the Russian command for 'jump' and Pippa just barked in response. The race continued on until Jack suddenly realized that their current hallway was a dead end at the banister railing and the only thing around the corner was a long set of stairs. Jack realized that Pippa needed to slow down before she went tumbling down the stairs. "Whoa Pippa_, stoy_! _Stoy_!" Jack cried using the Russian command for 'stop'.

Pippa tried to stop as her paws stumbled beneath her and she skidded across the floor until she finally screeched to a stop just in time to only slightly bump against the banister. Pippa shook herself as she sat her rump down and her tongue hung out of her mouth as she lightly panted. Jack on the other hand didn't have as much time to slow down as he sped towards the banister. He was suddenly stopped as something gripped the back of his hoodie and was pulled back from crashing. Now hanging from the scruff of his hoodie, Jack let out a sigh of relief and he turned to see what, or who, had caught him.

"Uh… hey, North." Jack said as North held Jack from the scruff of his hoodie, "Where'd you come from?"

"I was working in nearby room," North replied, "Was just about to go get some cookies and heard the ruckus. You should know better than to go so fast down these hallways. You could hurt yourself."

"Yeah I kinda got that… Hey totally off topic here, but you wouldn't mind putting me down would you?"

North chuckled as he set Jack down on his feet and Jack smoothed out his hoodie as Pippa restlessly wagged her tail. "Be more careful next time, Jack." North said.

"No worries, North!" Jack replied as he and Pippa were about to take off once more, most likely down the stairs this time but North stopped them.

"Jack, do not forget we have follow-up Guardian meeting today. You must be ready for that."

"The meeting? I thought that was next week."

"No, is today."

"Aw man!"

"You will attend, Jack. Pippa may come _if_ she behaves, if not then she will stay in your room until meeting is over. Agreed?"

"Alright, alright. I get it."

"Good, meeting is at six."

"Six, got it." Jack turned to Pippa, who had been anxiously waiting, "Come on, girl!"

Pippa yipped in excitement as Jack began racing down the stairs with Pippa quickly following behind. North sighed as he turned and returned to the previous room he had been working in.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by as the time of the meeting drew nearer and soon it was just after five-thirty and Jack and Pippa were currently inside Jack's room. Jack was kneeling on the floor in front of Pippa as he fastened a navy blue collar comfortably around the wolf pup's neck. A perfectly round silver tag hung from the collar with Pippa's name carved into it. The collar had been a gift from North a few weeks ago, claiming that it seemed only suitable for Pippa to have a collar when she could grow into it and today seemed like the day to try it on. Either that or Jack just seemed to want an excuse to prove that he could be responsible, whether it was being able to focus at a Guardian meeting or just making sure that Pippa was well behaved or it was possibly both.

"Please try and behave tonight," Jack said as he made the final adjustments to Pippa's collar, "There's no telling what North might do to me if I mess things up tonight."

Pippa simply wagged her tail happily and nudged her snout against Jack's cheek making the winter spirit chuckle. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all," Jack said as he scratched behind Pippa's right ear, "tonight's gonna be a breeze, no problem. Right?"

Pippa yipped in response and Jack smiled as he stood and North's voice could be heard outside of the room down the hallway, "Jack! Meeting is very soon! You are ready, yes?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" Jack called back as he began to head for the door. He turned back to Pippa and patted his knees, "Pippa_, prigeht_."

Immediately, Pippa dashed towards Jack and leaped into the winter spirit's open arms, catching her. Jack eased open the door and headed down the hallway and towards the globe room. Jack found North already in the globe room making last minute preparations as the jolly man straightened papers on a nearby table and accepted a cup of eggnog from a yeti carrying a tray full of cups and a plate of assorted cookies. Jack placed Pippa down on the floor and it was then that North noticed their arrival as Jack straightened. "Ah good, you are here," North said and he glanced down at Pippa, "She will behave, yes?"

"Don't worry North," Jack replied, "I've got everything under control."

"Good, the others will be arriving soon."

The yeti holding the tray of eggnog and cookies had placed the tray on the nearby table and Jack headed over to grab a cookie and Pippa followed close behind. Jack broke a small piece of the cookie off and turned to Pippa, "Pippa, _sajish_."

Pippa sat and her tail wagged as it quietly thumped against the floor and she looked up fondly at Jack before the winter spirit offered her the small chunk of cookie while mumbling "good girl," as Pippa gobbled down the cookie. It was then that the sound of a small plane could be heard entering the workshop to the globe room and a small golden sand plane flew into the room. Sandy hopped out of the plane and floated the rest of the way into the room while the sand plane dissolved, greeting North with images above his head. "Is good to see you too, Sandy." North said.

Sandy then turned towards Jack and waved at him and Jack smiled. Sandy then noticed Pippa sitting patiently at Jack's feet and Sandy formed a question mark above his head while gesturing to Pippa. "Oh, this is Pippa," Jack said, "I found her when she was a week old and North let me keep her. Cool, huh?"

Sandy nodded as he smiled taking an interest in Pippa, he glanced up at Jack and gestured as if to say 'May I?'

"Of course." Jack said and Sandy floated over to Pippa and stroked her head, Pippa herself seemed delighted with the attention she was receiving as her tail wagged happily.

Next to arrive was Tooth as she flew into the room with a few of her mini baby tooth fairies following close behind her. One of the fairies happened to be Baby Tooth (Jack's favorite, though he wouldn't admit it out loud to the other little baby teeth) as the small fairy spotted Jack and made a beeline straight at him, nuzzling his cheek. "Hey Baby Tooth." Jack greeted and Baby Tooth settled on her usual spot on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack, there you are!" Tooth said as she zoomed over to the winter spirit and immediately began examining his mouth, "Have you been brushing your sparkly teeth every night? You must be, otherwise they wouldn't be as shiny as they are now!"

"Tooth," North interfered, "Fingers out of mouth."

"Oh sorry."

Tooth flew back a few inches and Jack chuckled, "Hey, Tooth." Jack greeted and it was then that Pippa yipped in Tooth's direction making Tooth gasp as she flew up in surprise, her feathers puffing up slightly for a moment.

"Oh my goodness!" Tooth yelped, "Now when did this get here?"

"About six weeks ago," Jack answered, "I found her and North let me keep her. I named her Pippa. Cute isn't she?"

"A wolf, Jack?" Tooth looked from Sandy to North for some sort of explanation, "Aren't they supposed to be dangerous wild animals?"

"She's still a puppy and I've been training her with North's help. I promise she won't be any trouble."

Sandy seemed to prove Jack's point as Sandy scratched Pippa's ear with one hand and gave a thumbs up to Tooth with his other hand. Pippa's tail wagged happily as Tooth seemed to calm down a little and she glanced back at Jack. "Well alright. I am assuming Bunny doesn't know about this either?"

"No he doesn't, he… Oh crap…"

He hadn't even thought of that! Unfortunate enough, a hole appeared a few feet away in the floor and a pair of long grey ears poked out and along with them an entire six foot tall rabbit. "That fireplace had better be lit, North," Bunny said as he hopped out of his tunnel, "Otherwise my feet are gonna fall off my-"

BARK! BARK! BARK!

Suddenly Pippa took off like a shot straight for Bunny, barking almost hysterically. "Crikey!" Bunny yelped as he leaped out of the way to the right on all fours as Pippa bumped into the wall. A split second later she took off again straight at Bunny, her paws scrambling beneath her as Bunny frantically leaped from corner to wall to knocking over a nearby comfy chair, yelping the entire way as Pippa chased him.

The entire situation occurred within seconds; nobody having any time to react and North finally called out "JACK!"

"Not good…" Jack said as Pippa continued to chase Bunny who now leaped from another corner and onto the nearby table where the others stood and hovered nearby. Tooth yelped as she flew out of the way and Sandy barely had enough time to form a sand ball as he and Jack ducked from the oncoming Bunny. The papers on the table scattered as Bunny landed and Pippa raced towards him, barking loudly.

"Get that bloody thing away from me!" Bunny yelled and he moved to leap to the next nearby corner. Pippa had just reached the table and was about to dash after Bunny again but Jack swiftly grabbed hold of Pippa's collar but she continued to bark. "What in bloody hell is that dingo doing here?"

''Pippa,_ stoy_! _Nyet_!" Jack commanded, "_Cheeha_! Enough already!"

"Restrain her, Jack!" North boomed.

Jack finally managed to clamp one hand around Pippa's mouth, holding it closed as she squirmed under his grip, "Pippa, for the moon's sake! _stoy_, _cheeha_!"

Pippa squirmed under Jack's grip for a few more moments before finally settling and was finally reduced to quiet whines. Once Pippa was quieted, Jack glanced up at Bunny who was still cowering near the corner. "Could've been worse, Bunny," Jack said, "We just started feeding her meat."

"Ain't funny, Frostbite," Bunny warned, "Now again, what in bloody hell is that dingo doing here?"

"Is not dingo, Bunny," North said, "Is wolf and is in Jack's care. Speaking of which…"

"Uh oh…" Jack muttered as all eyes turned to face him, "Uh… whoops?"

"That's all ya have to say?" Bunny said as he marched out from the corner yet still kept his distance from Pippa, "Just 'whoops'? I bet you trained that mutt to attack me, didn't ya mate?"

"I did not! She's just a puppy, she didn't know any better!"

"Boys, please!" Tooth interfered as she flew down in between Bunny and Jack, "It was a misunderstanding, that's all it was."

"A misunderstanding?" Bunny snapped, "Yeah right."

"Careful kangaroo," Jack said, "I can just as easily sick her on you again."

"I'd like to see ya try."

"ENOUGH!"

North's booming voice silenced both of them as he stepped forward, "It was misunderstanding of instinct. That is what dogs and wolfs alike do. There is obviously more training to be done but no time for that now. Jack, take Pippa back to your room and keep her there, you are to come back and we will commence with meeting."

Jack sighed but nodded nonetheless as he scooped Pippa up into his arms and hurried down the hallway and was soon out of sight of the other Guardians. North sighed as he rubbed his temples, Tooth and Sandy had taken to picking up the fallen papers while Bunny moved to set back up the toppled comfy chair he had knocked over. "Bloody dingo coulda nearly skinned me." Bunny grumbled.

North looked at Bunny, "You are kidding me! She is but a puppy; still has her milk teeth."

"Key word is _teeth_, mate."

"You are overreacting, my friend."

"I'm overreacting? You're not the one who just got chased by a bloody wild animal!"

"Pippa is not wild; Jack is taking very good care of her."

Tooth and Sandy had finished with the papers and had come to join North and Bunny. "And," North continued, eyeing each of the other guardians, "I am very proud of him."

Meanwhile, Jack huffed as he carried Pippa down the long corridors towards his bedroom. He had honestly not thought about Pippa's reaction to Bunny or even let alone any of the other guardians. Jack truly thought he had everything under control, that Pippa would behave herself, and that he could prove he could be responsible for things other than winter and the occasional guardian duties. He felt like he just flunked that test.

He finally reached his room as he pushed open the door and walked inside. He set Pippa down on the floor as he commanded her to sit and she did. Sighing, Jack turned and began heading for the door stopping only once when Pippa let out a quiet whine.

Jack turned to face Pippa, "Please don't pull that on me right now," Jack said, "I'll be back later. Just be quiet and behave."

With that, Jack walked out and closed the door behind him as Pippa lay down placing her head on her front paws while staring at the door.

Jack made his way back towards the globe room trying to think of something, ANYTHING, to say. Should he apologize? Should he try explaining? Reasoning? What if they make him get rid of Pippa? Bunny would be sure to convince North of that, Jack had no doubt.

He was close to the globe room now but the mention of his name in the conversation made him stop as he held back and listened in from around the corner out of sight.

"-not wild; Jack is taking very good care of her." North had been saying. Jack heard the flutter of Tooth's wings and there was a brief second of silence. "And… I am very proud of him."

Jack almost couldn't believe what he just heard. Jack felt like doing back flips and cheering but he didn't as he remained still and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

_**Another chapter successfully done! As I said that took quite a while but I managed it. Keep an eye out for later chapters to come!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hope y'all are having fun because I sure am! I'm glad to hear how happy everyone was with the last chapter, makes me feel so good about it! Here's another chapter to keep the people happy! Anybody up for a game of basketball?**_

The meeting was soon coming to a close and Jack had been bored long before that. He was sitting on the edge of the table with Sandy floating nearby while Tooth fluttered next to North who sat in his big comfy chair while Bunny stayed close to the fire in order to stay warm. As North began to bring the meeting to an end, a yeti happened to walk past the globe room with a net full of assorted sports toys, mostly soccer balls, volleyballs, basketballs, and footballs. The yeti didn't seem to notice as a basketball from the top of the net toppled out and bounced unnoticed into the globe room. It lightly bounced against Jack's staff making the winter spirit notice the slight jostle of the staff. Jack looked down and smiled as he spotted the basketball on the floor.

It was perfect timing as North announced the end of the meeting and Jack pushed himself off of the table and bent to pick up the basketball, tossing it around in his hands. Sandy noticed and smiled as he conjured a basketball net out of dream sand a few feet away in front of Jack. The winter spirit glanced at Sandy with a playful smirk as he turned to the sand basket and tossed the ball. The ball landed perfectly through the net earning a triumphant cheer from Jack and silent clapping from Sandy. The others turned as Jack retrieved the basketball and tossed it around in his hands once more.

"Anybody up for a game of basketball?" Jack said as he managed to twirl the ball on the tip of his finger for a few seconds before catching it. Sandy waved his arms at Jack, motioning for him to pass the ball and Jack happily obeyed as he bounced the ball a few times before passing it to Sandy who aimed at the sand net but unfortunately missed as it bounced off the edge of the net, dissolving it.

"Way to go, Sandy!" Jack cheered as Sandy shrugged and moved to retrieve the ball. Jack turned to the others "So? What do you say?"

Tooth giggled, "It sounds like fun but I can't stay. My fairies need me back at the palace. You boys have fun though!" Tooth bid everyone goodbye and swiftly kissed Jack's cheek before calling her mini fairies and heading out the door.

Jack faced North and Bunny as the two haven't said anything yet as Sandy floated up next to Jack with the basketball in hand, obvious that the other two wanted to play and North smiled. "We have a court with net on lower level of workshop," he said and he turned to Bunny, "Will you be joining us, Bunny?"

Bunny seemed to consider it for a moment, "I suppose one game can't hurt."

"Yes!" Jack cheered.

"Just one game, mate. That's all I have time for."

"Good enough for me. Me and Sandy against you two?"

"You're on, mate."

Jack laughed as he flew up and hovered over the banister railing, "Hey Sandy, pass!" Sandy did as Jack caught the ball and tucked it under his free arm, "Last one to the court is a rotten egg!"

With that, Jack dove over the railing and was soon followed by Sandy, both disappearing out of sight. North glanced at Bunny, "I suppose we should catch up." North said and Bunny chuckled as the two made their way to a flight of stairs.

Jack and Sandy were already at the court bouncing the ball and passing it back and forth by the time North and Bunny arrived. The basketball court was smaller compared to other courts in a high school or stadium but was still relatively big enough to accommodate a few players and a pair of basketball nets hung from two sided of the wall across from each other. Against the other walls sat a small set of bleachers on one side and a score board hung on the other wall. Jack had placed his staff safely against the bleachers seeing as how he would need his hands free for the game.

Jack was the first to notice the others presence, "You guys ready?" Jack called out as he dribbled the ball, a playful smirk on his face.

"Let's play!" North said as he and Bunny positioned themselves on the court.

Jack laughed as he passed the ball to Sandy who had to float a few feet in the air to match his fellow teammates. Sandy dribbled the ball across the court as Bunny came up and attempted to block him. Jack called out and Sandy passed but just as Jack was within reach, North managed to steal the ball and began dribbling towards the other end of the court, laughing as he went. North passed to Bunny who began to take aim for the basket but the ball was knocked out of his paws by a sudden blur of gold. Sandy's smile was wide as he dribbled the ball down the court and passed to Jack who then jumped as high as he could and dunked the ball in the net, grasping the metal edge of the basket as the ball fell through.

"Alright!" Jack cheered as he hung from the basket with both hands, "Point for us!"

"Get down from there ya show pony!" Bunny said though he had a small smile on his lips.

Jack giggled, "You worried, cottontail?"

"Not a bit. Now get down!"

"Make me!"

Bunny and North glanced at one another, both having the same thought as North winked and looked back up at Jack. "Whatever you say." North said as he reached up and poked Jack's side with a finger making the winter spirit let out a laugh. Jack quieted as he looked from North to Bunny and then over to Sandy who smiled yet pointed and accusing finger towards the other two as a sand exclamation mark flashed over his head along with a caution sign. Realization dawned on the winter spirit but it was too late!

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes." North chuckled as he reached up once more and began tickling Jack's side making the immortal boy squeal.

"No, no, no! Stop, no! Stop!"

"Not until you come down, my boy!"

"This -ahahaha- isn't fair! Ahhh stop!"

Jack's fingers began to slip from the net and with another tickled jab to his side, Jack released his hold unwillingly and slid down landing in North's arms yet the jolly man still continued to tickle the winter spirit while Bunny and Sandy laughed.

"Y-you said-ahahaha- you would s-sto-op! Ahahaha!"

"I lied."

"Not fair! S-stop hahaha! Dad, stop!"

North abruptly stopped but it took Jack a few seconds to catch his giggling breath, his face at first all smiles until he suddenly realized what he just said. Jack's smile slowly faded as North stared down at him. Upon realizing what had just happened Bunny and Sandy soon stooped laughing as they looked at the jolly old man and the winter spirit in his arms.

North set Jack down on his feet, "Jack…" he began but Jack's sudden quick movement stopped him as Jack collected his staff and only just barely glanced over his shoulder to address the others.

"I'm going to go check on Pippa." He said and within seconds he was up in the air and out of sight.

The remaining guardians watched the winter spirit leave but once Jack was gone, Bunny and Sandy looked at North who continued to stare towards where Jack had flown off. After a few moments, Bunny spoke, "Mate, you alright?"

North turned to Bunny, "Did you hear…?"

"I heard, mate."

"He said 'dad'."

"I know."

North glanced down at Sandy who nodded, confirming that he heard what Jack had said as well. A snowflake and a Santa hat appeared beside each other above Sandy's head. A clock appeared and circled the two objects before all three diminished.

"Sandy's right," Bunny said, "You do spend the most time with the kid. It only makes sense he would say something like that. Be it a slip up or on purpose I don't know."

"I suppose you are right, my friend," North said, "Game is over then, no?"

"Yeah, I gotta get back to the warren. Eggs and all."

"Yes, see you next time then."

Bunny tapped his foot and a tunnel appeared and just before he jumped in he said "Good luck, mate." And was gone along with the tunnel. Sandy floated up to North's height, the basketball in hand, as an image of a bed and the letter Z formed and North nodded.

"You have yourself a good night, Sandy." North said and Sandy nodded as he handed the ball to North and floated away and was soon out of sight.

North sighed as he glanced down at the basketball in his hands. One moment they were having a great game and the next Jack had said that one word and within seconds it was all over leaving North standing alone in the basketball court. With another sigh, North began to casually dribble the ball as he turned to face the basket. He held the ball up and took aim as he tossed it and the ball bounced into the net and fell through hitting the floor with a series of thumps. It soon came to a stop against the wall and North left it where it was as he turned and began heading out of the room and wandered elsewhere into the workshop.

Jack had flown off as fast as he could, not wanting to stick around any longer for a supposed awkward moment or something worse. He didn't know what was worse at the moment; all he knew was that he had to get away for a while, to be alone. Well not entirely alone, he still had Pippa but he just had to avoid North for a while was all.

What was he thinking? Had he even been thinking at all when it happened? He didn't think so, it just came out. Did he really mean to say it? Jack did not know what it was like to have a father, if that's even what he considered North to be. He really didn't know. Some of his memories were still pretty vague but so far he still can't recall having a father or a father-like figure in his past life. He liked North well enough but what did he feel towards the man who had given him a place to stay and call home? The man who had provided him with everything he would ever need.

Jack shook his head to clear his mind of the thoughts as he reached his room and opened the door. Everything was just so confusing; he didn't know how to deal with it entirely let alone want to deal with it in the first place. Instead Jack focused on Pippa as the wolf pup greeted him at the door, whining and yipping at him happily. Jack stroked Pippa's head as he calmed her and once she calmed, Jack patted his knees signaling Pippa and the pup jumped into the winter spirit's arms.

Jack took Pippa first to her spot in the stables to relieve herself and once that was done the pup followed Jack at his heels as he headed towards his window sill to sit, grabbing a book from the library on the way. Once at the window sill, Jack sat down comfortably with his legs up on the sill and his back against the wall, Pippa jumped up and settled herself next to the winter spirit's side. Jack placed a hand on Pippa's head casually stroking it as he leaned his staff up against the wall and placed the book on his lap, opening the cover and to the first page. The day had turned to night as it began to get late and Jack was content to read by the moon's bright beams with Pippa beginning to fall asleep beside him. Soon Jack was beginning to feel the same and after running around all day and then the basketball game leading to the awkward 'dad' drama had left him feeling tired and his energy sapped. Jack closed the book he had been reading, taking a moment to save the page he was on, and he glanced out the window at the snow-capped mountains and valleys as his eyes began to get heavy and close.

The work day was finally finished as North began closing up the workshop and was prepared to get ready for a relaxing sleep. He was about to head to the kitchens for a few cookies and milk when he spotted Jack on his windowsill, fast asleep. Jack's staff leaned against the wall and a book lay on Jack's lap with Pippa at Jack's side, the pup also asleep with her head against Jack's stomach. North took a brief moment to gaze at the sight before him and then smiled as he walked over, carefully and quietly taking the book and setting it aside yet the small movement woke Pippa as she lifted her head and blinked tiredly. North chuckled quietly as he reached over and lifted the pup up from the sill and setting her down on the floor. He then turned back to Jack as he carefully slipped one arm under the boy's knees and the other around his shoulders and slowly lifted him up. North had to shuffle Jack slightly with the boy's legs over North's wrist so as the jolly man's hand was free to grab Jack's staff leaning against the wall.

With the boy undisturbed in his arms, North turned and began heading towards the bedrooms with Pippa following close behind. North managed to ease open Jack's bedroom door as he stepped inside and placed Jack's staff against the head board of the bed. He lifted a corner of the blanket away as he lowered the winter spirit onto the bed, making sure not to jostle or disturb him in any way and pulled the covers back around to cover the boy. As North tucked in the sleeping Jack, Pippa stood on her hind legs to stand against the bed with her front paws and glanced over at Jack. She lowered herself back down to the floor and bent her legs just enough so as to jump onto bed, her hind legs almost making it as they scrambled against the covers to work her way all the way up onto the bed.

North quietly chuckled as Pippa moved up and settled herself next to Jack's side, placing her head on his stomach once more. "Just this once then." North whispered as he stroked Pippa's head and turned to leave the two to sleep, the jolly man also needing a good night's rest. North quietly headed out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar as he headed back to the window sill and picked up the book Jack had been reading. North was curious as to what Jack had been reading now as the boy must have gone through almost every book in the workshop by now.

The title of the book read _'How to Speak Russian' _

North knew that Jack had wanted to learn Russian only by the means of training and commanding the wolf pup but this book was not on dog training and commands. This was a book on speaking fluent Russian. North noticed a piece of paper sticking out through a few more pages and he turned to the page finding a guide of simple greetings and phrases. North assumed that this must be the page that Jack had saved right before he fell asleep. North did not know if Jack was trying to teach himself the language or if this was just morbid curiosity but either way the jolly man was happy that Jack seemed to have an interest in something from North's culture. Closing the book North walked back to Jack's room and quietly stepped back in and the winter spirit and wolf pup were fast asleep earning a small smile from the jolly man. North quietly placed the book on the bedside table next to the bed and carefully moved his hand so as to brush a few strands of snow white hair from Jack's face. The boy did not even stir.

Smiling, North turned and made his way back to the door and just before he walked out, he glanced over his shoulder at the bed and whispered "Goodnight… son."

_**Oh snap guys! I bet y'all liked that! To be honest I know nothing about sports but this was irresistible! See ya next time!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**This seemed to take a little while to come up with but at least it's a new chapter. Hope y'all enjoy!**_

Jack was avoiding him and North knew it.

For the past three days ever since the basketball game, North had barely seen any sight of the winter spirit and North's worry began to grow with each passing hour and day. When he did see the boy, it was a quick glance before the boy took off unseen for hours at a time and even that was rare. On the third day, North had spotted Jack outside playing with Pippa in the snow as the jolly man happened to look out a window from the workshop. Jack hadn't noticed North watching him as the boy created a snowball and iced it as he then threw the snowball and Pippa chased after it yipping happily.

North wondered if this was possibly a good time to maybe speak with the young winter spirit. He knew it had to happen eventually; Jack could not avoid him forever. Well actually, Jack was entirely capable of avoiding things for as long as he pleased but North wouldn't have any of that. He watched the boy toss the iced snowball for Pippa once more before glancing at a nearby clock on the wall. North was confident that the yetis could handle a few minutes or so without the jolly old man as he stopped by his office to grab his coat and hat. He checked out the window once more to confirm if Jack was still there and with the winter spirit and wolf still in sight, North made his way to the door and headed outside.

North trudged through the snow as he made his way to the side of the workshop where North had seen Jack playing and stopped as he spotted the boy with his back to the jolly man. Jack had just thrown the iced snowball for Pippa as the young wolf dashed after it and soon began to bring it back. Pippa was the first to spot North as she dashed passed Jack and bounded towards North, dropping the iced snowball at his feet. Jack whirled around when Pippa had run passed him and froze when he spotted North. North bent to pick up the iced snowball and Pippa barked in excitement wanting North to throw it for her. North obliged as he tossed the iced snowball and Pippa took off once more after it.

North walked over to stand next to Jack, "I was hoping we could talk." He said.

Jack was silent as he turned away from North and watched for Pippa, his eyes never making any contact with North's. when he did speak, it was quiet almost a whisper and North strained to hear. "I don't want to talk right now."

"I wanted to let you know that there are fresh baked cookies in the kitchen. Very delicious."

"Not hungry."

"Alright…"

The two were silent as Pippa came racing back and dropped the iced snowball at Jack's feet and Jack bent to pick it up.

"You know, Jack," North began, "I have been meaning to speak with you for some time now. That night at the basketball court-"

"I said I don't want to talk."

"Then you can listen, yes? What you said that night-"

"I know what I said! I don't want to talk about it! I've said that three times already! Can't you just leave it alone?"

With that, Jack stormed off a few feet away as he called Pippa to his side and hovered a few inches in the air. "Pippa_, prigeht_." Jack said and Pippa jumped into Jack's arms and the winter spirit immediately flew off, leaving North to stand in the snow alone. North watched as Jack flew off in the distance and the old man sighed as he turned and trudged back in the direction he came.

Meanwhile in the sky, Jack held Pippa close to him as he flew through the sky and Pippa seemed perfectly calm with flying. It wasn't long before Jack and Pippa landed in a forest-like park in a nearby town. Jack placed Pippa down on the ground and the growing wolf pup began exploring just ahead of the winter spirit as they walked. There were still some thin layers of snow left on the ground and the air still had a crisp chill to it yet patches of lush green grass poked through the remaining snow. Spring had not quite arrived yet but it was coming fairly soon though the weather was still cold enough for Jack to handle.

Jack's thoughts drifted as he wandered through the park with Pippa exploring just ahead of him. It had been three days since the basketball game, three days since he willingly saw North, three days since he had called the jolly man 'dad'. He had not entirely meant to say it, it just came out. But then what did he mean by 'not entirely'? Had a small part of him want to say it? He didn't even know himself. Right now all he was sure of was the fact that he really didn't want to talk about it and he was going to avoid North as much as possible with the high hope of the jolly man possibly forgetting the entire ordeal. Though Jack had a dreaded feeling North would not forget and it would just be a useless never ending cycle.

Pippa had stopped as she stared straight ahead and then began barking, bringing Jack out of his confused thoughts. Pippa then ran ahead barking as she dashed towards a large group of shrubs. "Pippa!" Jack called, "Pippa, _Iji shudah_! Where are you going?"

Pippa barely noticed Jack as she reached the shrubs and stuck her muzzle inside, attempting to sniff at whatever was in there. Jack then suddenly heard a familiar yelp from the shrubs, "Crikey! Blasted canine!"

Jack soon caught up to Pippa as he took hold of her collar and pulled her a few inches back from the shrubs yet he couldn't hide the small smirk on his face. "What've you found, Pips? A fluffy bunny?"

"Very funny, ya bloody popsicle." Bunny's voice said from within the shrubs. The shrubs ruffled as Bunny stepped out from behind. "What ya doing out here anyways?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Need I remind ya it's nearing spring? That means Easter's coming."

"Yeah, and?"

"I'm looking for new hiding places, never put eggs in the same place twice."

"Oh…"

"Your turn, what ya doing here?"

"Just needed some fresh air, figured I'd let Pippa run around somewhere other than the Pole."

"Uh huh. Well so long as that dingo of yours doesn't chase me again. I've got work to do."

"Yeah… hey, mind if we tag along for a little bit? I could… help maybe."

"Hmm…" Bunny considered for a few moments, "Alright, just don't let the mutt get in the way."

Jack nodded as he called Pippa to his side and Bunny turned and headed to the left, Jack and Pippa following behind. Along their trek, Bunny began to direct Jack to search for possible hiding spots in the trees as the rabbit wasn't one for climbing trees and preferred being on the ground. Bunny was slightly surprised when Jack obeyed without a single question or teasing argument and the winter spirit was even oddly quiet. The only time he seemed to say anything was to report back on his hiding spot findings or to call Pippa if she wandered too far. Jack didn't even conjure a snowball to throw at the giant rabbit.

As their searches continued, Bunny glanced over at Jack who was now perched in a nearby tree searching the branches for potential hiding spots for eggs. "So," Bunny began, "Any idea what Jamie's favorite color is? Bet I could whip up some mighty great goodies for 'em and his pals."

Jack didn't seem to hear him at first but with a loud clearing of the throat, Jack finally looked down at Bunny, "Hmm? What?"

"I said, what is Jamie's favorite color?"

"Oh uh… green, I think. There's a small hidey hole here, would that work?"

"So long as nothing's living in it… come down here for a sec, mate."

Again, Jack didn't question Bunny's request as he drifted down from the tree and landed silently beside Bunny as Pippa placed herself at Jack's side. "What's up? Are we finished looking in trees?"

"For now," Bunny began to walk and Jack followed beside him, "How's things at the Pole?"

Jack shrugged, "They're… good I guess. North's been busy."

"Mhmm. Great game we had the other day, eh?"

"… Yeah."

"North seemed to have a lot of fun, did you?"

Jack looked at Bunny with a somewhat annoyed look, "What are you getting at, cottontail?"

Bunny huffed as they came to a stop, "No sense beating around the bush then is it?"

"Not really."

"We all heard what you said, mate."

"I figured. And no I don't want to talk about any of it so don't start."

"Wasn't going to… Much."

Jack groaned as he turned away from Bunny, walking ahead with Pippa close at his heels as she pranced around him, pleading for attention. "Why is it such a big deal anyways? It's not like I did anything wrong."

"Maybe not," Bunny said as he began to catch up to Jack, "but you still said it."

Jack did not make any eye contact as he focused his attention on Pippa, stroking her head as Pippa reacted happily to the desired attention. "It was just a word," Jack said, "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to North, mate."

Jack fell silent as he stopped yet still continued to avoid eye contact with the giant rabbit and Bunny took that as a chance to continue as he came up beside Jack.

"Think about it, frostbite. North has always wanted one of his own for a very, very long time. But as an immortal guardian it aint easy plus North doesn't even have a wife so even if it were possible he couldn't without the lady…" Bunny paused for a brief second, "I don't have to explain certain things, do I?"

At this Jack's head shot up with a shocked face, "What? No! I'm not that innocent… And that would just be awkward."

"Ok good. Anyways, do ya understand what I'm trying to say? North sees you as one of his own even if not biological though he damn well wishes it… Badly actually. Do ya see why it matters so much when ya say so much as a simple 'dad' around that big man?"

Jack's eyes slowly cast down as he stared down at the ground; taking in all of Bunny's words and he thought back to just mere hours ago he had run off angry at North for wanting to talk. Now he just felt bad. Guilty even. "Dammit…" Jack muttered but Bunny's big ears heard it.

"What's eating ya, mate?"

"I… ran off because North wanted to talk a couple hours ago. I yelled at him and said I didn't want to talk… it's why I came here. I didn't want to stick around."

"Ah blast it all, Jack!"

"I know, I know! I feel guilty enough."

"So what ya gonna do about it?"

"… I should probably get back and maybe talk to him or something."

"Damn right you're gonna go back," Bunny waved a paw at Jack in a shooing motion, "Go on, off your pop."

"I'm going, I'm going." Jack chuckled as he stepped to the side and called Pippa over to him. He turned and began walking away but he stopped and turned to look behind him at Bunny. "Hey Bunny… thanks."

"Don't mention it, mate. Now scat."

Jack smiled as he turned back around and headed back in the direction they had come.

Back at the workshop, the work day was coming to an end and North had begun closing up his office with the thought of a few cookies and hot chocolate was in order. Jack had not come back yet since his outburst and considering the time, North was getting very worried but there wasn't much he could do. Once Jack took off there was no finding him until he wanted to be found. Nevertheless North had decided that the worst case scenario would be if the winter spirit was not back by midnight then he would send out a full search party until Jack was found. But until then all North could do was wait.

With a plate of cookies and a mug of hot chocolate in hand, North made his way to the globe room where his big red comfy chair awaited him by the fire. North picked up a book from the nearby bookshelf and settled himself into his chair placing the cookies and hot chocolate on the side table next to his chair. He opened the book and began to read, occasionally taking a sip of hot chocolate or a bite of a cookie. This went on for about ten minutes before North realized he had read the same paragraph four times and North sighed as he closed the book and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a moment. How was he supposed to read peacefully when he was so worried about whether Jack was safe or not?

North huffed as he set the book down and instead chugged the full mug of hot chocolate, the warm beverage instantly warming his throat and large belly. He remained sitting in his chair as he set down the now empty mug and rubbed his forehead with his hand. He would not be able to relax until he knew where Jack was, if he was safe, and if he was even coming back.

The sound of faint barking was heard but it was so quiet that North figured it must be just another elf playing around somewhere in the workshop. The barking had become much closer and North glanced up just in time to see Pippa run around the corner and straight for North. The jolly man did not have time to react as Pippa jumped up with her front paws on North's lap and her tail wagged happily. North couldn't help but chuckle as he stroked Pippa's head.

The sound of bare feet coming down the hallway made North glance up once more to see Jack come around the corner and stop. North eased Pippa down and the wolf sat obediently while Jack stared. "Jack…" North began but he did not know where to go from there and ended up falling silent.

"I'm sorry." Jack suddenly said and was then quiet.

North could not help the small smile on his lips as he quietly gestured Jack towards him and Jack silently obeyed as he came to stand in front of North. "You do not have to be sorry, Jack," North said, "All that matters is you are home safe and sound, yes?"

"But I am sorry," Jack said, "I shouldn't have yelled earlier, it was stupid… I was stupid."

"Oh Jack," North stood from his chair and looked down at the winter spirit, "You are not stupid. It was unfair of me to push such a thing on to you."

Jack looked down at the floor, his hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie. "Look, North… What I said that night, I…"

"Do not worry about a thing, Jack," North placed a finger under Jack's chin gently lifting Jack's chin in order for the winter spirit to look at him. "You may call me whatever you like… within appropriate reason of course."

_**And there you go! Another chapter done! Hope y'all liked it! Until next time guys!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Whoa you guys are so awesome! I have never before reached the triple digits in reviews! Do you know how excited I am? Super excited! Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! Lots of love to you all! **_

_**Just a quick note on this chapter, I know thunder storms never happen in the winter time and such but this is fanfiction and as a fellow writer/reader like the rest of you I can do whatever I want. (Besides if y'all have been reading and following this then I know you're going to like it anyways regardless) Also I have barely any idea what North's back story is as I have yet to read the books so please don't be mean if I get something wrong or whatever. Anyways on with the next chapter! **_

Thunder and lightning storms were not common in the North Pole but they did happen on the rarest occasion and unfortunately… this was one of those nights.

The workshop was quiet with the occasional jingle of a snoring elf's hat and a few sleepy grumbles from a few yetis somewhere in their sleeping quarters. There was a slight flurry outside as the wind blew lightly with a faint echo and flakes of snow blew in the wind though both not by a certain winter spirits doing. In fact, both the Guardian of Wonder and the Guardian of Fun were fast asleep in their beds. North lay in his bed slightly upright with his hands folded comfortably on his belly and quiet snores escaping him every once in a while. Within Jack's room, Jack lay on his side buried within the cool white covers with the top of his white haired head (and possibly the tips of his ears if someone were to look close enough) only visible through the top of the covers. The winter spirit's staff leaned against the end bedpost and his blue hoodie lay draped across the post. A young grey wolf, Pippa, had managed to wedge herself against Jack's back as she lay curled and relaxed next to him.

Jack's breathing was even and calm as he slept and the slight flurry outside his window did not seem to bother him at the least. In his sleeping state, the winter spirit did not take any notice as the wind began to gradually pick up and the once starry white clouded night began to look dark. Pippa on the other hand noticed the change as her ears perked up and her groggy eyes opened as she lifted her head and her nose twitched as if sniffing the air for a moment.

That's when it happened… **BOOM!**

The white covers seemed to jump from the sound as Jack sleepily poked his head out from under the covers, one hand rubbing his eyes as he attempted to figure out what had just happened. "Hmmm? Wha…" Jack muttered as he pushed himself up just enough to support himself with his elbow. The covers had managed to slide down from his head and shoulders revealing a loose white t-shirt with blue trimmings which he wore as a night shirt along with his usual brown pants. Pippa let out one quiet whine as she rested her head against Jack's side and Jack stroked her head. He glanced at the window and noticed the quickened pace of the wind, its echoes louder than it was before. "Just the wind…" Jack said tiredly as he lay back down.

It only lasted a short moment before it happened again, this time much louder than the last. **BOOM! CRACK!**

Jack yelped as he shot straight up, his heart suddenly pounding as he swiftly looked at the window with wide eyes. Another one sounded but it seemed farther off yet still enough to make Jack flinch and Pippa whined as she crawled onto Jack's lap. The winter spirit wrapped his arms around the young wolf, not knowing if whether the comfort was for him or her but at the moment he did not care.

The loud sound cracked and boomed again and this time a streak of light flashed outside the window for a split second before disappearing making Jack gasp and he inched a little deeper into the covers. Again the sound and flash of light appeared in a deadly performance and Jack had decided that he could not take anymore! In almost an instant, Jack dove under the covers head first along with Pippa as the two huddled beneath the covers, Jack's breath shaky as he attempted (and failed) to calm himself down. A series of loud, thundering cracks and booms echoed through the skies and Jack desperately covered his ears with his hands in attempt to block out the sound but to no avail as Pippa whined next to him.

It had to stop. Why wouldn't it stop?

Jack squeezed his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to block out the terrifying sound but the storm raged on with no mercy. The shaking winter spirit couldn't hear the slight creak of his bedroom door opening over the crashing sound outside. "Jack?" A voice asked and Jack cautiously peeked out from under the covers, his head at the end of the bed as he lifted the covers with one hand making his face visible.

North's large figure was somewhat visible in the shadows and with another flash from outside the window he caught full sight of the jolly man for a split second before he was a shadow again. North held a small brass candle holder with a lit candle in his hand while the other hand had pushed the door open. "Jack, are you alright?" North asked as he spotted a pair of blue eyes peek out from under the covers at the end of the bed. At the sound of North's voice, Pippa had also begun to peek out from beside Jack yet her ears perked up at the jolly man.

"Um…" Jack stuttered, "I, uh… y-yeah fine. T-totally fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah, why n-not?"

Another clap sounded loudly followed by a split second flash of bright light and Jack flinched as he ducked his head back under the covers. North sighed as he stepped forward into the room, setting the candle and holder on a nearby table stand as he made his way over to the bed and with one hand lifted the edge of the covers to reveal Jack's ducked head with his hands over his ears. Jack slowly lifted his head to look up at North and when he did he almost immediately hung it back down almost as if in shame.

"Jack, it is alright," North said, "Come out from there."

"North, I'm-"

Jack was cut off from yet another loud clap and with an unwilling yelp, the boy shot out from under the seemingly protection of the covers and into North's already open arms. North held the immortal boy close to him as Jack's hands clung onto the jolly man's clothes with all his might. "Easy now, Jack," North said calmly, "It is just thunder and some lightning. Nothing to fear."

North's words were soon lost as the thunder and lightning continued loudly outside and at the sound, Jack noticeably flinched and began to slightly shake and North rubbed the winter spirit's back in hopes of comforting him. Then, North got an idea. He had no need to use that old tactic since long before he became a guardian, almost since his first teen years. Now with a shaking and visibly frightened child in his arms, there was good reason to bring it back.

"Come with me, Jack," North said as the immortal boy was set down on his feet yet he still would not let go of North's shirt, "I think I have something that will help."

Jack at first opened his mouth to object but then he realized the situation he was in and he was clinging to North like he was the last being on earth so he remained silent and instead nodded. Jack let North unlatch his hands from North's shirt and the jolly man placed a hand gently on Jack's back guiding the winter spirit to the door. Thunder echoed through Jack's ears and he jumped at the sound but North's hand rubbed his back making the boy feel slightly better but unfortunately it didn't last. As they neared the door, North picked up the candle and candle holder with his free hand, the small orange flame flickering with the movement yet not daring to go out any time soon.

North then looked over his shoulder to the bed, "Are you coming, little one?"

From the bed, Pippa immediately perked up as she jumped down from the bed and hurried over to North who let the way out of the room with the small glow of the candle to light the way. As they wandered down the halls, the sound of the thunder began to ever so slightly fade but Jack still flinched from time to time and he glanced around his surroundings, searching for where the sound had come from. North kept his hand placed on Jack's back to assure the winter spirit that he was still there and not alone. North did not know if Jack had ever witnessed a thunder and lightning storm before but judging from his actions just moments ago in his room, North doubted that Jack had seen these storms often and concluded that this was rather new for the boy and definitely frightening.

Soon, they reached the doors of the library and North removed his hand from Jack's back in order to push open one of the doors and he gently ushered the winter spirit and the young wolf inside. The door closed silently behind them as North then wandered over to one of the bookshelves and began searching through the shelves. The size of the library and large doors had reduced the thunder to a faint echo making it a little easier for Jack as he remained standing near the doors while North searched the shelves.

"North?" Jack said, "What are we doing here?"

"You will see," North replied, "Ah, here it is!"

North plucked a book off of the shelf and sauntered over to one of the large comfy chairs and sat down, placing the candle holder on the stand next to the chair. North beckoned to Jack and the boy obeyed as he wandered over and Pippa rushed ahead of him, determined to get to North as she curled up against the jolly man's leg earning a chuckle from North. Once Jack had reached the chair, North patted his knee and for a moment Jack just stared at the jolly man but he walked forward and instead perched himself atop of the arm rest.

North just simply shrugged as he opened the book, "When I was very young, my papa would read to me during a storm so I would not be afraid-"

"I'm not afraid." Jack said.

"I did not say you were, but let us try this out for tonight. Will make time pass as storm passes, yes?"

"… Okay."

"I think you will like this story I picked out, is part of Russian history and one of my favorites."

Jack just fell silent as he leaned back against the chair and North turned to the first page, reading aloud. "_The year was 1917 and the Russian czar and his family were celebrating the 300th anniversary of Romanov's dynasty…"_

Jack silently sighed as he failed to see the reason behind all of this but he remained sitting and listened to the story, beginning to get slightly intrigued as his eyes brows frowned in interest.

"_Everything was perfect and the little Princess Anastasia was the most beautiful star, but the little girl was very sad, because her grandma, the Dowager Empress Marie, was going back to Paris. The Empress knew that and gave a special gift to Anastasia, it was a music box that played their music," _North paused for a short moment as he turned his head to glance over at Jack, "Do you know the song?"

Jack shook his head and North lifted the book to show him as the winter spirit leaned forward in order to read the lyrics of the song. _On the wind, 'cross the sea. Hear this song and remember. Soon you'll be home with me. Once upon a December. _Jack found himself liking the words to the song and North lowered the book back down so as to continue reading and Jack leaned forward a little more and attempted to follow along with North.

"_Words were written on the key to the music box: "Together in Paris". It would be a wonderful dream to both of them, but it didn't come true, because a nightmare named Rasputin arrived in the palace and brought with him the shadow of the revolution.__Rasputin wanted revenge and cursed all the royal family, but-"_

"Wait," Jack said, "Who's this Rasputin guy? Is he kind of like a spirit or legend?"

"Somewhat, but you will need to listen to find out, yes?"

"Sorry, go ahead."

North lightly smiled as Jack settled on the arm rest sliding forward to get a better view with his arms around his knees and his chin propped up on top of his knees, his eyes trained on the book in North's hands. "_But his plans did not work out as planned, for he had previously sold his soul to the devil as a price to pay for a powerful weapon. Rasputin planned to use this weapon to destroy the Romanov line forever. People ran to escape the palace but few were successful. But thanks to Dimitri, a kitchen boy, he helped Empress Marie and Anastasia to escape from the palace. Rasputin went after them but was unsuccessful as Rasputin disappeared under the cold waters of Volga River while the Princess fell from her grandma's grasp, lying on the ground, separated from Marie who was going to Paris."_

Jack's eyes widened before he even knew it had happened, "Just like that? That can't be the end!"

"It is not the end," North said, "The story gets much better. Would you like to hear it?"

Jack was quiet for a brief moment before nodding and North cleared his throat before continuing. As he read Jack began to move closer to North, getting more absorbed into the story as it progressed.

"_Ten years had passed. Russia was a new and sad country, but Russians said that things could be better: "Princess Anastasia maybe still alive"- they sang along the streets. In another part of the country, an orphan named Anya was leaving the orphanage where she was brought up. This eighteen-year-old girl decided to look for her past for she could not remember her own,__following her dreams with only a necklace which she always had and a puppy called Pooka that appeared on her way, showing her which path was the right. The path that would take her to Paris, on a great adventure."_

The story progressed with grand adventures and with each passing minute, Jack was more and more intrigued as he inched closer to North until he was finally sitting on the jolly man's lap, the winter spirit's small frame only being able to fit on one knee. North could not hide the smile across his face as he read to the immortal child curled up on his lap, the boy immersed in the story with wide eyes and complete interest.

Every once in a while Jack would ask a certain question about the story and North would patiently answer so long as it did not already contribute to the story. North even noticed that the thunder had become even quieter, hardly audible within the workshop let alone the library. Jack had not noticed any of the changes and North took this as a good sign in many ways. It meant that they had found a way to help Jack cope with thunder and lightning storms and it also meant that Jack had complete trust in North to make him feel safe. The immortal boy had started out with keeping his distance on the arm rest and was now settled on the jolly man's lap as if he always belonged there.

As the story began to near its end, North caught sight of Jack yawning though the winter spirit tried to hide it yet he failed. North managed to glance down at his feet and discovered that Pippa had long ago fallen asleep at his feet and Jack was slowly drifting off as well though he fought to stay awake for the sake of finishing the story.

"She doesn't get hurt trying to defeat Rasputin, does she?" Jack sleepily asked as one hand subconsciously rubbed his eye, fighting sleep.

"I do not believe so, but let us finish and find out." North answered and he continued with the last part of the story.

"_The death seemed to be right to the brave girl, but Dimitri came back on the right time and saved Anastasia. That was the end of Rasputin's revenge. The Princess, at last, destroyed the monster that killed her family, the Romanovs.__But it's not the end of the story. Knowing her past and having her family's love, Anastasia left Paris. It was the beginning of a new journey to the Russian Princess, because she had chosen Dimitri's love."_

North finally closed the book and with sleepy but bewildered eyes, Jack looked up at the jolly man, "Is that the end?"

North chuckled, "The story itself deems it not over but for tonight it is. I believe it is time for you to go back to bed. Don't you think?"

Jack shrugged, "I guess so… Wait, what about the storm?"

"What storm? It was over in the middle of the story."

"… Oh."

North chuckled as Jack slid off North's lap and he bent to pick up the sleepy wolf pup before North stood from his seat. They both left the library with Pippa in Jack's arms as they walked back down the now finally quiet hallways of the workshop and once again reached their rooms.

North led Jack to the winter spirit's room as he pushed open the door and stood aside to let Jack and Pippa inside. Jack wandered over to his bed, placing Pippa on the bed and beginning to pull back the covers for himself. North wandered in behind Jack as he took the covers from Jack and the immortal boy crawled into the bed, much too tired to argue and North placed the covers over the boy.

"Hey North," Jack quietly said, "… Thanks for the story."

"Anytime, Jack," North replied and the jolly man thought for a moment. North placed his hand on the top of Jack's head, smoothing down a few strands of snow-white hair. "If there is ever a thunder storm, Jack, you are always welcome to come to me anytime and I will gladly read any story for you."

"What if you're not around? What then?"

"Then… take any story and read it. Out loud if you like. A story will always distract you from the worst of any storm… Now, it is time to go to sleep. Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, North."

North turned and headed for the door as Jack settled into his pillow and covers and was soon asleep as North stepped out and quietly closed the door.

_**Another successful chapter done! Does anyone recognize the story I used? It is 'Anastasia' and just for the sake of the story and because 'Anastasia' is the only Russian story I know plus I really enjoy the movie itself. Hope y'all liked it and keep an eye out for the next chapter!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hi guys! What's this? A new chapter! Hooray! Man do I ever hate writers block. My writers sledgehammer is not working very well apparently. Be proud I managed to get this out! Don't worry though! I have a lot of adventures planned but they unfortunately have to wait for a little while longer until I can work out specific details before the reveal. Anyways! On with the next chapter!**_

Today was not a good day. Not at all. Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

First the hot chocolate dispenser machine broke down this morning which was slightly bearable but still irritating first thing in the morning. Coincidentally not long after that, Pippa managed to somehow get into the kitchen garbage while Jack had his back turned for barely a minute. Half rotten food, broken egg shells, bits of flour and sugar, torn pieces of plastic from the garbage bag, and anything else imaginable in a garbage was scattered across the kitchen floor. All North could do was stand and glare at the mess as Jack stammered and promised to clean it up. Fortunately for him, dozens of elves rushed in and gobbled down anything edible and Jack and North made faces of slight disgust. North just shook his head as he headed towards his office leaving Jack to clean up whatever remained of the mess.

It began to get a little better while North began working in his office. He began with the construction of a small village all made out of ice with an ice mountain towering over the village. He then took another chunk of ice and carved it into a good sized dragon to fit the scale of the village and mountain. Once the ice dragon was finished, North placed it on the top of the mountain and within moments the small dragon came to life with a quiet screech as it flapped its wings and took flight. North laughed as it began flying around the ice village and then took to the rest of the office. It only made it so far before the office door was slammed open by a yeti, knocking the poor ice dragon to pieces onto the floor. North could not help the Russian curse that escaped him as he turned and glared at the yeti interrupting him.

You'd think they would have gotten it by now, but no!

"What is it?" North asked with a slight angry tone.

The yeti grumbled and growled something about a machine malfunction and needing instructions and repairs.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming."

After about an hour of tinkering with the broken down machine, North discovered that it was simply just another stupid elf that had gotten stuck inside somehow and had fooled around with the gears and wires inside. North did not even want to know how the elf had gotten in there; he just pulled it out by the elf's hat and tossed it to the side and out of the way. He was about to go back to his office but was stopped as another yeti informed him of yet another malfunction on another level of the workshop.

Disaster after disaster occurred through the workshop as if it were a trail of dominoes, one right after the other. Machines were breaking down, elves were constantly in the way, and two yeti's even somehow managed to get a broken arm and had to be taken to the infirmary resulting in less workers because of the two absent yeti's and the others who were now tending to them.

And it was still morning…

An elf flying a toy airplane dove straight for North's head and the large man ducked down just in time as it zoomed past him. North straightened and turned just in time to see the toy plane crash against the wall and with it the elf flying it as the elf tumbled to the floor.

"THAT IS IT!" North bellowed making almost the entire workshop floor stop. Even the elf that had crashed did not dare move from the spot on the floor. "I am going back to my office; do NOT interrupt me under any circumstances! And learn to knock for the moons sake! Do I make myself clear?"

The many yeti's grumbled their responses of agreement as they hustled back to their jobs and North heavily sighed. He then heard barking as Pippa came running around the corner and she ran up to North and happily pranced around him, her tail wagging. North commanded Pippa to sit and she obediently did so as North looked back and forth and with an exasperated groan, called out to a few nearby yeti's.

"Where is Jack?"

The yeti's grumbled and explained that they had not seen Jack. One of the yeti's pointed over to another corner of the workshop where Phil happened to be working and the yeti indicated to ask him. North sighed again as he rubbed his temple with a hand and wandered over to Phil with Pippa following right behind him.

North called out, "Phil, front and center please."

Phil turned and walked over to North and the yeti asked his boss what the problem was.

"Where is Jack? No one has seen him and Pippa is running around without him in sight."

Phil proceeded to explain to North that Jack had left for Canada after cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Phil recalled that the boy had put the young wolf in his room before leaving but the yeti supposed that Pippa must have gotten out without anyone's knowledge.

North nodded in understanding and dismissed Phil to his duties. As Phil left, North glanced down at Pippa who sat at his feet, her tail wagging as she looked at the jolly man with a happy look.

"I suppose you are staying with me today then, eh?" North said to the little wolf and Pippa yipped in response. "Well, come on then."

Pippa followed close at North's heels as the jolly man finally made his way to his office and headed inside, allowing Pippa inside as well. North closes the door and makes his way over to his chair at the desk and with a relieved "Ahhh…" the jolly man sat himself down in his chair and picks up his tools once more.

Pippa wandered underneath the desk and North glanced down at her as she curled up comfortably at his feet earning a chuckle from North. Since his last creation was destroyed, North now had to come up with a new one, he would need more ice for that. He grabbed a chunk of ice that was off to the side of his desk and pushed his previous creations aside to make room and centered the chunk of ice in front of him. He thought for a few moments as to what he would create this time, staring at the chunk of ice trying to picture in his mind what he could possibly shape it to be. A few minutes later North snapped his fingers and with a triumphant "ah ha!" he reached for his chainsaw and started it up. Pippa jumped at the sound but stayed lying under the desk as she watched carefully.

North took a firm hold of the chainsaw and began to make the first cut into the ice, the sliced off chunk fell to the floor with a _thump_. North let out a triumphant laugh as he adjusted to make the next cut. He began cutting through the ice once more and as it got halfway through, the chainsaw suddenly stopped dead.

"What is this?" North asked himself aloud as he attempted to wedge the chainsaw out but it wouldn't budge, he tried starting it up again but it barely made a sound before going dead once more.

North struggled with the chainsaw as he tried to remove it from the ice and after many attempts, it finally came loose with one last tug. It even caused North to stumble back a few steps but the jolly man caught himself before he could fall over. He tried once more to start the chainsaw up again and this time he was successful as the chainsaw roared to life. But not for long.

At that moment the chainsaw suddenly went haywire as it rattled and roared and North still kept a firm grip on the chainsaw. A few sparks suddenly began to fly and from under the desk Pippa hid her face under her paws as the chainsaw rattled dangerously. The main chain suddenly snapped as it flung off of the chainsaw and narrowly missed North's head by an inch as it hit the wall and fell to the floor in a heap. North finally managed to turn the chainsaw off as he set it down and took a few deep breathes to calm himself.

Pippa peeked out from under the desk as North moved to pick up the broken chain and he groaned. "I will need a new chain obviously." North said as he turned back to his desk and sat down, placing the broken chain on the desk along with the chainsaw. It was then that he heard his large belly growl and North glanced up at a nearby clock and saw that it had finally reached the afternoon and it was well past lunch time. North looked down at Pippa who looked up at him from under the desk and North patted his belly.

"I suppose you're hungry as well?" North said as he stood from his chair and Pippa crawled out from under the desk as North headed for the door and the young wolf followed.

The hallways and corridors were bustling with activity as yetis bustled by with half completed toys of all sorts. Pippa followed North as they maneuvered around the yetis, barely stopping to give directions and instructions if a yeti asked. They finally reached the kitchen but stopped as North saw the chaos within the kitchen. Dozens of elves were ransacking the kitchen as some were digging in drawers while a few others had gotten up onto the counters, pushing a bag of flour off the shelf and onto the elves on the floor below. The now flour covered elves scattered and a few ran straight into the wall, falling over while the others scampered out of the kitchen and down the halls to who knows where. North groaned as the remaining elves in the kitchen spotted him and attempted to escape by jumping out of the drawers, from off of the counter and onto the floor scampering out and following the floured trail of the other elves.

North just shook his head, already starting to feel the beginning of exhaustion as he scrounged the kitchen for anything good to eat. Pippa had already found her dish as she held it in her jaws and waited anxiously for North to feed her. Thankfully, North managed to find a slab of steak and Pippa placed her dish back on the floor as North put the steak in it and the young wolf greedily dug in making the jolly man chuckle. While Pippa ate her fill, North began pulling out various ingredients from the fridge hoping to make a filling sandwich for himself. He began building the sandwich with cuts of ham meat, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mustard, and mayonnaise. And of course he could not forget the bread!

North soon had a towering stack all loaded onto a piece of bread that was the base. He was right in the middle of spreading mustard on the top slice of bread when the whirring sound of a toy plane was heard and North glanced up just in time as a toy plane being flown by an elf and another hung from the underside of the plane by its feet swooped down and crashed right into the sandwich. Veggies and meat was now scattered across the counters and floor as the toy plane flew off, now covered in pieces of sandwich ingredients. All North could do now was place the top slice of bread on top of what remained of the sandwich and take an exhausted bite. Pippa, having finished her steak, began eating up the pieces of food off of the floor that had not been snatched up by the elves.

Many hours later the work day finally ended as North somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other and miraculously made it to his chair in the globe room. Pippa had taken to being curled up in front of the fire place, already lit and burning. Finally a moment of peace, no broken machines, no annoying elves, and no yeti's demanding instructions, just peace and quiet.

Well it was quiet, up until a cold breeze blew in and then a thump at the window immediately followed by Jack's voice, "Ow!"

North looked over to see Jack fly in through the open window with his hood up and rubbing the top of his head with a hand as he stumbled in and North studied the immortal boy for a moment. He seemed tired as his shoulders slumped and he looked to be almost dragging his feet as he tiredly flopped his entire body down on the floor on his back. Pippa noticed his arrival and got up from her spot to greet him as she nudged his cheek with her snout earning a groan from Jack before settling down next to her master's side.

"Hard day today, Jack?" North asked.

"Yea…" came the muffled reply from Jack.

"You missed the window coming in."

"Yea…"

"Are you alright?"

Jack raised a hand with the index finger raised, "In a minute…" his hand flopped back down onto the floor. He turned his head in attempt to face North, "So anyways… how was your day?"

North himself groaned as he slumped in his chair, "Not very well at all I'm afraid."

"Why's that?"

"Almost every machine broke down slowing down toy productions; even two yeti's broke an arm each and were sent to infirmary. Of course the elves were of no help whatsoever. Oh and I need a new chain on my chainsaw now."

"Ouch, that sucks."

"Mhmm. What of you, Jack? What has you so exhausted?"

"Ugh… everything seemed to go wrong today," Jack pushed himself up into a sitting position, pushing his hood down off his head as he stroked Pippa's head which rested on his lap. "No good came out of it at all."

"I know what that's like. What happened?"

"Well it started with that mess in the kitchen this morning and when I went to put Pippa in my room she would NOT stop whining, it drove me insane. Now I find she's out here but whatever I'm not even gonna ask. I tried giving a few places in Canada a good snow day because it's the last few days of winter and supposedly they love snow there so I thought 'what could it hurt?' turns out not so good. The weather there is way too warm and it's all because of that stupid Summer Breeze bitch. She hates my guts. Now Canada is having a really warm spring but problem is SHE ISN'T SPRING! I mean, what the hell is she doing there if it's not even her season?"

"What is this about Summer Breeze?" North asked, forcing Jack to stop his ranting for a moment and take a breath. "She should not be interfering with other seasons let alone two of them, winter and spring."

"Technically yeah, she shouldn't but she's super over protective of her sister, April Showers, who is the actual spring spirit and Summer thinks I'm going to ruin it or something. Do you know what she did to me today?"

Jack rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie to reveal faint red marks along his wrists. "She almost burned me! The bitch grabbed my wrists and practically flung me across the province of BC!" Jack rolled his sleeves back down before North could even think of examining his wrists, "They'll heal really soon don't worry, she didn't get much. As much as I hate her, she's got strength. I tried giving Alberta some extra snow but she chased me out of there too! I could hardly spread a decent snow fall without her trailing me and melting it all. But she really crossed the line when a few kids began to get heat stroke because of her. I couldn't just leave them there! I finally blasted that stupid bitch halfway across the Atlantic ocean. The kids are fine now at least, I made sure they got home okay."

"Sounds like you have had quite an eventful day." North said as Jack finally fell silent from his ranting.

"Yeah right. Now I'm just really tired, I use up so much energy against Summer I barely managed to keep my eyes open and fly straight."

"Clearly, considering you hit the window on the way in."

"I also may have hit a few tree branches on the way back before hand as well."

North sighed as he stroked his beard for a moment before standing from his chair, "Well do you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think we could both use a drink."

Jack looked at North with a questioning look, "A drink?"

"Yes, a drink!"

Jack remained on the floor watching as North then sauntered over to a tall cabinet that sat near the bookcase and opened it. The jolly man rummaged inside it for a few moments before turning back with two glasses and a bottle of rum in his hands. He handed one of the glasses to Jack and poured a decent amount of rum into it before pouring his own glass and sitting down in his chair once more, placing the bottle of rum on a nearby stand.

"North, are you sure about this?" Jack asked as he looked at his glass then at North.

"Of course!" North said, "Now drink up! Will make you feel better after rough day."

Jack was still a little unsure as he watched North take a full shot of the alcohol with no problem at all. Jack took a deep breath as he brought the drink to his lips and attempted a small shot of it. The instant the liquid touched his tongue; he was strongly urged to spit it out. That was really strong stuff! How could North even stand it! Nevertheless he managed to swallow it and proceeded to cough in attempt to clear his now burning throat.

"Is good stuff, no?" North said and Jack shook his head as he coughed a few more times before attempting to stand.

"Yeah no, I don't think so, North," Jack said, his voice sounding slightly coarse from coughing, "I think I'm just gonna get some water and go to bed."

Jack placed his glass on the stand next to the bottle of rum as North finished off his glass and began to pour himself another glass. "You are sure? This is truly the best a Russian man could have."

"Only difference being is that you're Russian and I'm not. Just try not to get a hangover by morning."

"Bah hangovers! I never get them. Dobroj noči, Jack." **(a/n good night)**

"Dobroj noči, North."

As Jack walked away with Pippa following behind him, North took a moment to realize that Jack had just responded to his Russian tongue in bidding him good night. Those books the winter spirit was reading must be doing him some good and that brought a smile to North's face as he took a sip from his glass and enjoyed the peace and quiet by the fire place.

_**Wow this one is much longer than my other chapters. Personally I think this sucked a little but if you like it then that's cool and awesome. If not then please don't be mean, we all have our moments and no one is perfect. So sorry this took so long but don't worry, there are plenty adventures to come. Hope y'all are enjoying yourselves! Happy early Easter! I don't know about you guys but I'm keeping my eye out for a giant rabbit with boomerangs!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Just like I promised here's a whole new adventure! Oh and I just have to say a quick shout out to a few people who reviewed on the last chapter, you guys were so close! Your ideas were very close to what I already had planned for this segment. Congrats to you! So as a reward I give you this… An adventure! It'll take a little while to get set up but it will get there very soon! Enjoy!**_

Jack and the spirit of summer never ever got along. To Jack, it seemed as if Summer Breeze had made it her absolute life goal to make Jack's life a living hell when it came to the transition from winter to spring. That was also another problem; Summer Breeze is NOT the spirit of spring. So what was she doing there all the time?

That was the question that racked Jack's brain every time she chased him out of whatever city or town he happened to be spreading the last snowfall to. Jack found the answer to that question approximately one-hundred-and-fifty-eight years ago in a mountain range forest somewhere in North America.

Jack had been spreading winter as per usual as he twirled through the air, his brown cloak flowing in the wind behind him as he went. He was pretty sure he had at least another day or two before Summer was going to hunt him down again so he figured he might as well make the best of it. He landed in a mountain range forest as the snow fell lightly all around him and he wandered around covering trees with frost as he went. He had walked for quite some time with his staff resting against one shoulder while his opposite hand brushed against low hanging branches, spreading frost at his touch. It was at one of these moments when Jack heard a faint sound, he shrugged it off at first thinking it was probably just a forest animal. He was mistaken when he heard another sound except this one slightly louder than the last as Jack began wandering closer to where he thought he heard it.

It sounded like someone was sniffling, understandable for a human in cold winter weather such as this but then again what would a human be doing this far up in the mountains on their own? His curiosity piqued, Jack listened closely for the sound again and sure enough a few moments later he heard the sniffling again followed by a stuttering intake of breath and quiet sobbing. Jack was now very close to the source of the sound as he came to a cluster of shrubs and the sound seemed to be coming from just beyond it. Jack reached out his free hand and as quietly as possible pushed aside the shrubs and his breath was caught at the sight.

A young girl sat curled on the ground against a tree trunk and she was crying into her hands. The girl looked to be in her teens, maybe even physically the same or close to Jack's age. The girl had long brown hair and was done up in a single braid that now hung over her shoulder, her pale fair skin suggested that she had not been out in the sun very much in her life. She wore a luscious green dress that on the ground covered her legs but her open toed brown sandals could be seen and the sleeves of the dress reached just before her elbows. Wrapped loosely around her shoulders was a florally designed shawl with various flowers and vines decorating it and Jack automatically assumed that it would not work well to keep her warm in this weather.

Jack was utterly baffled, what would a girl like her be doing out here? He studied the girl for a moment longer before suddenly realizing something strange. All of the snow around the girl was gone within a two feet distance of her and instead of snow, there was growing green grass and maybe even a few small budding forest flowers if one were to look really close. Jack was then surprised as the girl wiped her eyes with her hands briefly before reaching out with one hand to the ground, gently cupping one of the tiny flower buds against her palm. The flower twitched and then attempted to bloom but it seemed to be struggling and it was very close to blooming but then it stopped. The flower suddenly twitched again and then shriveled as it sank back into the ground. The girl retracted her hand and tears welled up in her eyes once more as she covered her face with her hands and cried.

Now it all made sense! This girl was a spirit of some sort. Jack debated on whether to let the girl be or reveal himself but what would he do if he did? Should he console her? What would he say? He considered the thoughts back and forth in his mind, his feet fidgeting in attempt to come to a solution. He did not notice that as he fidgeted, his foot brushed against a loose twig and it ruffled a corner of the shrub catching the girl's attention as her head snapped up. Jack had just enough time to take a step back from the shrub concealing him from view but unfortunately the girl had already suspected she was being watched.

"W-whose there?" the girl called out in a shaky voice, "Anybody?"

Jack took a quiet deep breath, it was now or never. He moved to step around the shrub but his foot caught on a root causing him to at first stumble forward and then completely tumble to the ground as he attempted and failed to catch himself. The girl shrieked and jumped to her feet as Jack crashed to the ground with a yelp, flat on his face. _Real smooth, Jack, really smooth!_

"Ow…" Jack muttered as he pushed himself up and staggered back onto his feet, rubbing his head with his hand for a moment. He looked up and spotted the girl also on her feet and her back pressed against the trunk of the tree, her eyes wide as she stared slightly fearfully at Jack. Now was probably a good time to say something.

"Um… Hi?" Jack said yet the girl still stared at him.

"W-who are you?" The girl asked, "What do you want?"

"Nothing! I really didn't mean to spy on you, I heard crying is all. Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine… In fact it's none of your business. I ask again, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry… I'm Jack Frost. What's your name?"

"Y-you're..." The girl dashed behind the tree, her voice filled with fear as she grabbed a nearby tree branch and held it flimsily in her hands. "S-stay back! Don't… don't come any closer!"

Jack raised his hands up in a form of surrender, "Whoa okay, okay! Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

"My sister warned me about you! She says you destroy spring and you'll chase me out of my own territory… Is that what you're going to do to me?"

"What? No! Why would I do that? I would never hurt anybody."

"I-I'm not afraid of y-you!" The girl was unmistakeably terrified yet she tried to put on a fearful approach yet it wasn't working in her favor. "So… so y-you'd better go away… r-right now!"

"Alright, just calm down," Jack made sure to keep his voice steady and calm as he slowly crouched down and placed his staff on the ground. He kept his hands raised as he straightened back up and kept his gaze focused on the frightened girl before him. "Look, my hands are empty. I'm not going to hurt you." The girl hesitated as she kept the branch in her hands raised and stared at Jack for a few moments before taking a deep breath and lowering the branch by a little bit. To Jack, that was progress. Jack himself took a deep breath before trying to speak to the girl again. "Okay, let's just get one thing clear; I have never chased anyone out of anywhere and I would never do that in the first place. You said your sister told you about me?"

"Y-yes." The girl replied, "S-she said you're dangerous and you'll kill the flowers."

"Your sister is wrong, I wouldn't do that. Maybe if you lower the branch we could sort this out a little?"

The girl paused as she considered the thought, "You promise you won't chase me out or anything?"

"I promise."

"… Okay."

The girl lowered the branch but still kept hold of it as Jack let out a quiet breath and lowered his arms back down which had begun to get sore from holding them up for that long. The girl took a few cautious steps forward yet she still kept her distance, unsure of the situation.

Jack bent to pick up his staff and he began to speak as he straightened, "Look, I really am sorry if I scared you before. I heard crying a little ways back and was worried someone might've wandered through here lost or something."

"I'm not lost if that's what you were wondering, I just wanted to get away for a while. My powers are not that great so I thought if I snuck away for a while to practice, maybe I would do better," The girl sighed as she hung her head slightly, "Except all I can do is make the plants shrivel, I'm not very good at all. I don't get out much; my sister doesn't like me being on my own sometimes. It worries her."

"Seems to me you can take care of yourself just fine, you were pretty dead set on beating me with that branch of yours. If anything, I'm the one who should be scared."

That earned a small laugh out of the girl and Jack laughed with her as well, glad that they seemed to be getting along. "I, um…" the girl began as she fiddled with the branch, "I'm sorry about all of that, I panicked."

"It's okay, I'm glad we settled everything."

The girl was quiet for a short moment before glancing back up at Jack and taking the few steps forward to close the gaping distance between them, holding out her hand, "Why don't we start over? I'm April Showers."

Jack smiled as he took her hand in a gentle hand shake, "Jack Frost, pleased to meet you."

From then on, Jack Frost and April Showers were and still are the best of friends. Jack learned that it was always April's sister, Summer Breeze, which took over the season of spring due to her being overprotective of April. Summer always returned with stories of how horrible the transition from winter to spring was because of a so called evil winter spirit. April told Jack all about her difficulties at home with her sister, how she was forced to stay home during the first appearances and preparations of spring because Summer believed that April's weak powers could not handle the transition of the seasons. At least that's what Summer claimed to be the fault of. Thus April never had much of a chance to practice her powers except for the very few times she was allowed out when Summer gave her the clear or April managed to sneak off for a day or two. But it was never for very long since Summer would come looking for her if she thought April was gone for far too long, dragging the spring spirit back home where it was deemed safe.

April was shocked to discover that it was Summer who had chased Jack every year and not the other way around. Jack explained that sometimes he would already be on his way yet Summer would chase him further out anyways as if for entertainment purposes. At least now it was understandable why the spring season was becoming warmer each year hence the global warming phenomenon.

The two decided that despite their differences and Summer's hatred for Jack, they remained friends and got together in secret whenever they could every couple of years or so. In those meetings, April practiced her powers, surprisingly with Jack's help and the spring spirit improved greatly each time. They didn't just practice powers either, the two spent their time exploring their surroundings, playing games, and creating all sorts of fun. For the first time in a very, very long time, both Jack and April had someone to talk to and confide in. Summer did not count in April's opinion. Nevertheless, they were both there for each other.

Now many years later, Jack was now a Guardian and living at the North Pole. Jack had gotten out of bed that morning, quickly getting dressed and rushing out of his room to the kitchen with Pippa following behind him. In the kitchen, North sat at the table along with all the other Guardians drinking hot chocolate and having a quiet morning of visiting with each other as Jack came in. "Morning everyone." Jack said as he began to prepare himself a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning, Jack." Everyone said and Sandy formed a rising sun above his head as Jack sat down at the table with his cereal.

Tooth glanced at Jack, "Oh sweet tooth, that cereal is full of sugar. It'll rot those shiny teeth of yours."

"I'll brush after I'm done," Jack said, he then spotted a plate of muffins in the middle of the table, "Carrot muffins I'm guessing. Right, Bunny?"

"I'm pretty good at baking if I do say so myself," Bunny said as he himself was munching on a carrot muffin, "Try one, mate."

Jack took a muffin and broke a piece off, sneaking it to Pippa who took it happily.

"Don't feed her too much from the table," North said, catching Jack in the act, "She has her own food in her dish."

Jack snickered as Sandy then snuck a piece of a muffin under the table for Pippa, putting a finger to his lips signaling Jack to keep quiet about it. "Hey North," Jack began, "Can I borrow a snow globe today?"

North looked at Jack with a questioning look, "Now why would you need a snow globe?"

"I'm meeting a friend today and Pippa's getting too big to carry. So can I?"

North pulled a snow globe out of his pocket but didn't hand it over to Jack just yet, "Who exactly are you meeting?"

"Just a friend."

Bunny's ears perked up, "A friend you say. Is it a girl?"

Tooth's wings fluttered, "Oh are her teeth well taken care of?"

Sandy clapped his hands as he formed a heart with an arrow shooting through it.

Jack groaned, "We're just friends!"

"Ah so it is a girl!" Bunny teased.

North chuckled, "Alright now, that's enough," North lightly tossed the snow globe to Jack who thankfully caught it in both hands, "Just be back in time for dinner, yes?"

"No problem," Jack pocketed the snow globe as he stood and put his dirty dishes in the sink, "Thanks North!"

Jack was about to take off for the door when Bunny stopped him, "Oy, Frostbite!"

"Yeah?"

Bunny handed Jack a bundled green kerchief, "Take a few muffins for you and your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jack said but he reached out and took the bundled up muffins from the smirking Bunny and pocketed them, "Thanks though."

"Don't mention it; now get going before you're late for your date."

"Bunny!"

Bunny laughed as the others waved goodbye and Jack and Pippa were out the door. Jack pulled the snow globe out of his pocket as he spoke his destination and threw the snow globe, opening the portal and stepping through with Pippa following close behind.

Almost immediately Jack and Pippa landed in a small clearing in a forest. The forest was in its first stages of turning from winter to spring with patches of grass poking out of the remaining snow. The very first buds of spring were pushing their way out from the ground, small critters explored nearby trees and few robins and other small birds were arriving back home to their nests. Somewhere in the not too far distance, the sound of running water could be heard from a creek.

Pippa pranced around Jack as if begging to go explore making Jack chuckle as he scooped up a handful of snow from the ground, forming a snowball and icing it over making a perfect ball for Pippa to chase. Pippa yipped happily, crouching down in a playful stance as Jack pulled back his arm and tossed the ball, Pippa immediately chasing after it. Jack placed his staff against his shoulder as he began idly walking in the direction Pippa had gone. It wasn't long before Pippa raced back with the iced snowball in her jaws and dropped it at Jack's feet. Jack picked up the ball and tossed it again and Pippa raced after it, bringing it back once it was caught.

As Pippa made her way back to her master, Jack did not consider the slight breeze that drifted near him until it was too late. A snowball smacked the back of Jack's head earning a startled yelp from the winter spirit as he stumble forward slightly. His hand went to the back of his head as he whipped around for the source of the snowball. Jack's questions were answered as a girl's laughter was heard and Jack looked up at a nearby tree where standing on a tree branch bracing her hand against the tree trunk and her other hand holding her stomach, April Showers was laughing.

"I actually got you!" April said in between laughs, "I can't believe I actually got you this time!"

Jack laughed, "I taught you well since last time."

Over the years just as Jack had changed from his old brown cloak to his blue hoodie, April had changed as well. These days she now wore a long green short sleeved blouse and black leggings but still the same sandals. Her hair was still done up in a long braid and on one side of her head an orchid barrette was tucked into her hair. Around her waist was a brown belt with a knife and sheath on her hip, the knife's handle was wooden with light carvings of vines and leaves.

April laughed as she leaped down from the branch she was standing on, using her hands to grab onto the branches as she flung herself down and landed on her feet on the ground. Jack stepped forward pulling April into a hug and the spring spirit happily returned it for a few long moments before the two released each other with a smile. Pippa dashed up to April, wagging her tail as she dropped the iced snowball at her feet.

"Who is this sweet thing?" April asked as she scratched Pippa's head, "I didn't know you had a wolf."

"This is Pippa," Jack answered, "I found her about 6 months ago. She's gotten big since then."

"I can see that… So," April straightened as she placed her hands on her hips and smiled, "What are we going to do today?"

_**Wahoo! That was fun! Hope you guys had fun too! Keep your eyes out for the next chapter! Things will happen I promise!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Y'all ready for this? Have you been waiting ever so patiently and anxiously? Well then let's not keep you waiting any longer! Here we go!**_

"A little birdie told me a certain someone became a Guardian." April said as she and Jack wandered through the forest, Jack every once in a while throwing the iced snowball for Pippa.

"Really?" Jack replied with a smirk, "I would love to know who this new Guardian is. I've never met them."

April laughed as she playfully shoved Jack's shoulder, "I meant you, ice-face!"

"Ouch," Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and faked being hurt, "Physical AND verbal abuse!"

"Yeah right," April rolled her eyes before getting back on topic, "So c'mon! Tell me all about this Guardian business, tell me everything!"

"Alright, calm down," Jack said, "So far it's been great. I've even moved in to the North Pole with old saint Nick himself."

"You're living at the Pole with Santa? When did this happen? Last time I saw you, you were sleeping in a tree branch."

"That can be very comfortable if you sit just right, y'know. And yes I'm living at the North Pole, I've been there for almost a year now give or take, ever since I became a Guardian. North personally invited me to stay. They were all at the Pole for breakfast this morning before I left… That reminds me." Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the bundled kerchief holding the carrot muffins and Jack began untying the bundle, "Bunny baked some carrot muffins for breakfast this morning, he gave me a few for us to have. Want one?"

"Oh yes please!" April eagerly held out her hands as Jack handed her a carrot muffin, and April took a bite out of it, "Mmm, you can really taste the carrots. My compliments to the chef."

Jack laughed, "I'll tell Bunny you liked them."

As April munched on the muffin, she sat down on the ground against a log and Jack joined her as he leaned back against the log, laying his staff down and placing his hands behind his head. Pippa trotted over to them as she too lay on the ground and rolled in the new green grass. "Tell me about the Guardians, Jack. I've heard stories but you would know better."

"Where to begin?" Jack sighed, and so he spent the next long while telling April everything he could about the Guardians, being one himself, what it was like, the adventures (or misadventures) they had, and adjusting to having a home. April listened intensely, occasionally asking a question here and there which Jack always gladly answered to the best of his ability. He always felt he could speak freely and openly when he was with April, that much was obvious. She's his best friend after all.

But when April then asked a certain question, he wasn't sure how to respond. "From what you're telling me," April said, "I take it North is like a father to you, right?"

Jack blinked, growing quiet for a short moment as April studied him, "I… um, I mean…" Jack struggled to find words; he eventually gave up and sighed, "To tell you the truth… I really don't know what to say."

"Interesting," April replied and she slouched down against the log, "Let me see if I got this right. North invites you to stay at the Pole no questions asked with your own bedroom, he's always asking your opinion on toys and such, he lets you keep Pippa right off the bat, and he even set a few rules that YOU actually follow surprisingly enough, for example 'hood-is-not-allowed-up-while-inside'. He admitted to you that he had always wanted a child of his own so it's a well-known fact he considers you a son. Also you said earlier that you had accidentally called him 'dad' during a basketball game you played... How am I doing so far?"

"Fantastic." Jack said sarcastically.

"Good. So my question is… What's the deal?"

"What deal?"

"North takes you in and considers you a son, what about you? North's got to mean something to you in this sense."

"Of course!"

"Well then what is it?"

Jack sighed as he sat up, "It's been a really long time since I had a father… way over three hundred years in fact. Even when I was human my father wasn't around much that I know of, those memories are still pretty vague. Now suddenly I have a place to call home after three hundred years, North has given me that home. He's been there for me for everything since I became a Guardian, I can hardly remember in my human years somebody doing that for me. It's something I've been wanting through my whole immortal life and now I finally have it. I have a family."

Jack fell silent as he glanced at April and they both smiled. They sat like that for a few moments before April spoke, "Awww, look at you getting all mushy and sentimental!"

Jack could not help but laugh and April smiled and as Jack laughed, he looked at April with a smirk, "You are so going to get it for that, April!"

Immediately Jack lunged at April and with a smiling yelp, April leaped from her spot and Pippa dashed after her as they both took off with Jack racing after them. The two laughed as they ran through the forest, dodging, climbing, and hiding behind trees as Pippa dashed back and forth between them barking happily. April grabbed hold of a branch and swung herself up into a tree, she quickly jumped higher up into the branches and hid herself behind the trunk of the tree just as a snowball flew past where her head just was. "You missed!" April squealed, poking out from behind the tree. She yelped just as something cold hit her back and she whirled around to find a laughing Jack hovering in the air a few feet away tossing a snowball in his hand.

"Distraction snowball! What!" Jack cheered and he flung the snowball but April ducked as it hit the tree instead. _**(a/n Thumbs up for KD commercial prompt!)**_

"Missed me, missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!" April mocked as she leaped into another tree, gathering a handful of snow from the top of a branch and flinging it at Jack but it just barely missed as Jack had easily dodged.

"Ha! Now _**you **_gotta kiss _**me**_!"

"In your dreams!"

Jack laughed but not for long as a snowball suddenly smacked him in the face and he heard April's erupting laughter. "Bulls eye!" April leaped from tree to tree with Jack swerving and dodging through the trees to catch up, "C'mon, twinkle toes!"

"Twinkle toes?" Jack repeated as he caught up, "Look who's talking, chicken legs!"

"Chicken legs!"

Jack was suddenly tackled as April grabbed him and the two fell to the ground and the two spirits were in a wrestling match with Pippa barking as she pranced around them wanting to play as well. Finally, April had successfully pinned Jack on his back, her hands pinning his wrists to the ground and she sat on his stomach. "I do not have chicken legs!" April protested and then she paused for a moment, "Were you even trying just now?"

"Sadly yes," Jack replied, "Though the outcome works just fine for me."

"You are such a jerk."

"Awww you know you love me." With that, Jack was able to overcome April as he tossed her off of him and he took off laughing as he ran with Pippa racing after him. April leaped to her feet as she too ran to catch up to the winter spirit.

"Jack, no fair!"

"Come and get me, chicken legs!"

"I do not have chicken legs!"

They ran through the forest once more as April ran to catch up to Jack the both of them laughing. It didn't take long for them to reach the creek that was gently flowing quietly along but the quiet was short lived as Jack's feet splashed in the edge of the bank followed by Pippa. The water was not deep as it reached just barely above their ankles in the shallows and mid-calf in the slightly deeper parts. April quickly stripped her feet of her sandals tossing them to the side and her belt and knife joined them before she too splashed her feet into the shallow creek. Jack himself set aside his staff, placing it with April's things and he also pulled off his blue hoodie leaving a white t-shirt underneath. All of this was done within seconds of reaching the river and the two were scooping water into their hands and splashing each other. Pippa pranced through the water around the two spirits and she lapped up the water if she got thirsty.

Finally after both spirits were mostly soaked, they each called a temporary truce as they stepped out of the creek and out of breathe. Just as the truce was called, Pippa decided at that point to shake, forcing Jack and April to shield their faces with their arms yet they both still laughed as Pippa trotted over to Jack and the winter spirit reached down and scratched her ears.

April sat down beside her things as she began undoing her braid partially and wringing the water from her hair before doing it back up again. Jack moved to sit next to her as he pulled his hoodie back on and Pippa lay on the ground earning herself a belly rub from April.

April turned to Jack, "What do you say we get some lunch and-"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

Jack and April quickly looked behind them to see a very angry and almost literally fuming Summer Breeze.

Summer Breeze was physically a few years older than April in her mid-twenties, her dressing attire similar to April's but her blouse was red and had straps instead of sleeves with orange leggings and sandals on her feet. Around her waist was a belt along with a knife and sheath and also a quiver full of arrows and a bow strapped to her back. Summer was a fiery red head and at the moment the ends of her hair were almost ablaze.

"Sister!" April gasped as she and Jack quickly got to their feet, "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Summer replied, "I was passing by on my way to the tropics and what do I see? My very own sister frolicking about in a puddle with our worst enemy!"

"Now hang on a second…" Jack began.

"And you! How dare you manipulate my sister into your selfish and meaningless actions? You stay far away from us, do you understand?"

"Look just please let us explain-"

"I don't want to hear another word out of you! April, go home. Now."

April stood her ground, "No."

"What?"

"Jack's my friend; we've done nothing wrong by that. Why can't you just leave him alone?"

"He's dangerous! You should have nothing to do with him."

"Alright, that's enough." Jack said as me moved to stand in between the two, "We can settle this somehow."

Summer flared as a ball of fire formed in her hand, "Settle this!" she flung the ball of fire at Jack, hitting him in the chest and pushing him through the air and landing in the creek.

"Jack!" April cried, she moved to try and get to the winter spirit but Summer grabbed her arm and flung her in the opposite direction, hitting the ground.

Jack pushed himself up and was thankful that the creek was not deep otherwise he was sure he would have been dragged under the water helplessly. The front of his hoodie was slightly burned but the impact of the water doused the fire ball before it could do any real damage to his chest yet it still felt uncomfortably warm. He glanced up to see Summer fling April to the side, preventing her from reaching Jack as he attempted to get back up on his feet.

"April!" Jack called, "Are you okay?"

"Leave my sister alone!" Summer yelled as she advanced towards Jack, taking her bow and loading an arrow, "This is between you and me, Frost."

Jack hurried to the shore to grab his staff but Summer kicked it far off to the side and far from Jack's reach.

"Summer, please!" April cried, "Don't hurt him!"

"Oh I'll do more than that," Summer said, not taking her eyes off of Jack and an evil smirk on her lips, "I'm going to have fun with this."

"This is low even for you, Summer," Jack said, bracing himself for whatever came his way, without his staff he was near powerless. "Think about what you're doing."

"I already have and I don't care."

With that, Summer pulled back the string of her bow ready to fire a burning arrow at Jack's chest. Suddenly out of nowhere Summer's arrow was snapped in half, startling Summer out of balance as she and Jack turned to see April's knife now wedged into a nearby tree and Summer's broken arrow snapped in half on the ground. Both Jack and Summer turned to see April on her feet standing in the final stance of having just thrown her knife, her breath heavy with adrenaline.

April stood straight and glared directly at her sister, "I said. Don't. Hurt. Him."

Summer stared shocked, "April, what are you doing?"

"What I should have done a long time ago. I'm not going to let you hurt my best friend."

"Best friend? Is that what this has come to? I should have kept a closer eye on you all those years. Well, that mistake ends now and so does your little pathetic friend."

"Summer, no!"

Before April could even take a step forward, Summer snapped her fingers and in seconds a wall of fire rose up from the ground, separating April from her sister and Jack. Summer turned back to face the weakening winter spirit, "This ends now."

"You can't do this, Summer!" Jack screamed, "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do! I'm done with you, Frost!"

Summer advanced towards Jack, pushing him and he stumbled to the ground unable to defend himself properly without his staff and he was becoming more and more uncomfortably warm, the heat weakening him by the minute. Summer pulled out her knife, an angry rage in her eyes.

"Who needed winter anyways?" Summer said, "I didn't."

Jack shifted to shield himself as Summer raised her knife but she never got the chance as a large blur of grey leaped past Jack and slammed Summer to the ground. Summer's knife fell from her hand as she landed on her back with a startled yelp and suddenly staring into the green eyes of a growling wolf standing over her. Pippa's ears were back against her head, her fur stood on end, and her sharp teeth brandished in an angry snarl. To say the least, Summer was utterly terrified.

Throughout most of this ordeal, Pippa had kept herself hidden out of fear having no idea what to do. She was still young and had yet to learn what to do in a situation such as this and she was confused. Noise was everywhere in both angry and fear sounds. Pippa knew one thing for sure, this newcomer was dangerous and her intention was to hurt if not kill. The young wolf did not know what to do; there was too much noise and movement! It was in that moment that Pippa finally caught sight of the newcomer threatening her beloved cold master with the shiny tooth and Pippa suddenly instantly knew what she had to do. She leaped past her cold master and pushed the newcomer down, keeping her master from harm.

This one fact was for sure. No one threatens her cold master and gets away with it!

"Pippa!" Jack cried.

"Get this thing off of me!" Summer shrieked.

"Pippa, _nyet! Stoy_! _Nye dyell-eye!" _

Pippa hesitated for a short moment before backing away from Summer yet keeping the fierce snarl on her sharp jaws. Jack pushed himself up as best he could back on his feet and retrieved his staff where Summer had kicked it away. Summer did not move from her place on the ground as Pippa still snarled at her and Summer feared what would happen if she moved. Jack pointed his staff at the wall of flames and with the last of his energy, doused the flames with snow and ice.

Jack took a much needed deep breathe before turning to face Summer, "I think it's time you leave."

Summer glared at him as she cautiously moved to stand, "This is not over. Not by a long shot."

"It is for now."

April rushed over to stand by Jack's side as Summer glared at Jack for a moment longer before turning and walking away. As Summer walked further away, Jack began to feel the effects of lost energy as he began to slouch and he gripped his staff in his hands. April immediately moved to help support Jack and slowly lowered him to the ground on his knees. Pippa's snarl was now gone as she turned and nuzzled her snout against Jack's cheek, concerned for her master.

"Jack, are you alright?" April asked.

"I'll be fine," Jack replied as he breathed heavily, "Just out of energy."

"April!" Summer called angrily from afar, "Come, we're going home!"

April glanced in Summer's direction then back at Jack worriedly, "Jack…"

"Get out of here," Jack told her, "It'll be worse if you don't."

April was quiet for a moment, "I can take of Summer," she said, "Are you going to be alright?"

"I have a snow globe portal. Just go."

April took Jack's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before standing. She hurried over to the nearby tree and pulled her knife out of the trunk, placing it back in its sheath. Summer called once more and April glanced at Jack, the winter spirit nodded at her and April took off after her sister.

As soon as both the spring and summer spirit were out of sight, Jack groaned as he lowered himself completely on the ground lying on his back and taking heavy breaths and draping an arm across his face. Pippa whined as she nudged Jack's arm and attempted to lick his face, trying to rouse him from whatever state he was in. Jack finally lifted his arm and scratched Pippa behind the ear, "I'm okay, Pips," he said, "Good girl… good girl."

Jack managed to push himself up, moving to stand with the help of his staff and Pippa watching his every move. As Jack finally stood he staggered for a few seconds and almost completely fell forward but Pippa quickly caught him as he landed against her back. Jack took a few deep breaths before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the snow globe; he whispered the destination to the snow globe and then tossed it, opening the portal. Jack attempted once more to stand, this time keeping a hold on Pippa's collar should he fall again and Pippa led Jack through the portal as it closed behind them.

Within seconds the portal opened and Jack and Pippa stepped out and landed in the globe room and the portal disappeared. As Jack recognized his surroundings he finally allowed himself to fall to the floor, Pippa barely having enough time to catch him and safely lower him to the floor. Jack barely registered the sudden sound of Pippa barking and then of feet approaching and someone faintly saying something before he closed his eyes completely and he was out.

Just before Jack and Pippa had returned, all of the other guardians were having a nice visit sitting at the table in the kitchen. Bunny was giving Tooth instructions on how to make his famous carrot muffins, Tooth writing them down on a small notepad. Sandy was skimming through a newspaper; he was more focused on the comics and silently laughing at the cheesy jokes. North himself was getting everyone a fresh mug of hot chocolate as he brought them to the table handing a mug to each of them.

"Now you need to shred the carrots," Bunny was saying, "Not cut them in itty bitty chunks. Ya get full flavour then."

"Shredded not chopped," Tooth repeated as she wrote it down, "Got it."

North glanced at Sandy, "Any good jokes, Sandy?"

Sandy angled the newspaper towards North who then began to laugh at the comic. It was then that Sandy was the first to hear the sound of barking coming from somewhere in the workshop. Sandy immediately set the newspaper down and waved his arms in order to get the others attention while forming symbols above his head telling the others to be quiet and listen. The other three guardians did so as Bunny's ears then perked up and the sound reached everyone's ears.

"That is Pippa," North stated, "But she is with Jack, isn't she?"

Bunny listened carefully, "It's coming from the globe room."

"Let's go see then." Tooth said as she fluttered out of her chair and flew down the hallways with the others following close behind.

They soon reached the globe room and all were shocked to find Jack passed out in the middle of the globe room floor and Pippa barking almost hysterically.

"Jack!" North cried as he rushed to the immortal boy, kneeling down at his side and scooping him up in his arms. It was only then that Pippa stopped barking and North brushed stray strands of white hair from Jack's face as he attempted to revive the boy. "Jack, wake up my boy! Come now, say something."

Bunny bounded over beside North, "Lemme see him, mate. He could be hurt."

North adjusted Jack in his arms so as Bunny could look him over, the six foot rabbit studying Jack and his paws feeling his libs for any sign of injury.

Tooth fluttered over and hovered above them, "What could have happened?"

"I do not know." North replied.

Sandy formed a bed above his head along with a snowflake, a Band-Aid, and finally a clock.

"Sandy's right," Bunny said, "Let's get the kid to bed where we can treat him more comfortably and properly."

North nodded, "Yes, and open all windows in his room. I inform yetis to gather some snow as well."

With all that said, North carefully stood with Jack in his arms and the group quickly headed towards Jack's room. North placed Jack in the bed, removing his burnt sweater and tucking him into bed. Pippa jumped onto the bed and settled right beside Jack with her head on his stomach, having no intentions of leaving.

All there was left to do now… was wait.

_**Holy cow! That was insane! But it doesn't end here; oh no. there is much, much more to come. Keep a sharp eye out for the next intense chapter! I'll see y'all then. Until next time!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**I bet you all hate me for the little itty bitty cliff hanger but unfortunately I'm going to warn you now it is not the only one. There are more cliff hangers to come and it's gonna suck with how long it takes me to update in the first place. A few weeks at the least. I apologize in advance but I know y'all still love me! But you're bound to hate me at the end of this chapter…**_

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Summer screamed as she dragged April by the arm into their floral home. "How could you be anywhere near that frozen parasite? It is not our way!"

"You know nothing about him!" April screamed back as she was flung inside by Summer's forced hand, "Why can't you leave him alone?"

Summer slammed the front door shut, "It is my duty to protect you from him! I obviously have not been doing my job."

"It was never your job! You just hate him for what he is! You are the evil monster, not him!"

Summer stared at her sister, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," April said, "You are nothing compared to Jack Frost. I hate you!"

Summer almost stumbled at the words coming out of April's mouth, for a few seconds she did not know what to say or do. But with a moment of quick thinking and decision making, Summer lunged towards April, grasping her sister's wrist firmly and dragging her to another room with no windows, no exits and a locked from the outside door.

"You will regret those words, sister," Summer declared as she flung April into the room the spring spirit falling to the floor, "I meant what I said before. This is not over."

"What are you going to do?" April demanded.

"What should have been done a long time ago, Frost needs to be taught a very important lesson and I will not have you interfering!"

With that Summer slammed the door and locked it leaving April to bang her fists against the door screaming to be let out. Summer blocked out the sound of her sister's cries as she headed out of their home, grasping her knife in her hand.

Meanwhile at the North Pole, Jack remained unconscious and unmoving in his bed save for the small rise and fall of his chest the only indication he was still breathing. Bunny had checked each and every bone and muscle for injuries thankfully finding nothing serious but a few small bruises that would heal in a few days. It had been a few hours since the Guardians had found Jack passed out in the globe room and Jack had yet to wake and with each passing minute, North was getting more and more anxious. He had brought in a chair which he placed next to Jack's bed and he remained in the chair, a mug of hot chocolate in his hands and his foot tapping anxiously.

Tooth had taken to mending Jack's burnt hoodie while she settled in a chair in another corner of the room and needle and thread in hand. Bunny had left briefly in order to gather some ingredients, claiming that his herbs would make a tea that would help Jack feel better once he woke up; promising to be back soon. Sandy even took to settling on the other end of Jack's bed, stroking Pippa's head and side while he and the others patiently waited.

It had been so long and quiet in the room that the slightest rustle of the white covers drew the attention of them all. It was the slightest movement and it was almost thought that maybe it was just nothing but they were proved wrong when Jack began to shift beneath the covers and his eyes slowly fluttered open. Jack squeezed his eyes back shut with a quiet groan, the light in the room blinding him for a moment and then he felt a hand brush against his forehead.

"Jack?" North said, "Can you hear me?"

"N-North?" Jack managed to choke out.

"I am right here, Jack. So is everyone else. How do you feel?"

"Head hurts…"

"Bunny will be back soon with something that will help with that."

Jack simply nodded and he then attempted to push himself up but he was still weak and ended up slouching back down. North and Sandy helped Jack sit up as Tooth fluttered up from her seat and hovered at the end of the bed.

"I've been mending your hoodie," Tooth said, holding up the blue hoodie, "It still needs a few more stitches though."

Jack managed a weak smile, "Thanks Tooth."

It was then that Bunny came into the room with a mug of herbal tea in hand. "Hey you're awake!" Bunny said as he handed Jack the mug, "Here, that'll help your head, mate. Drink up."

Jack seemed a little skeptical but took a sip and almost spat it out had Sandy not covered his mouth with his hand.

"Ya have to swallow, Frostbite." Bunny coaxed and Jack obeyed allowing Sandy to remove his hand from Jack's mouth.

"What was that?" Jack gagged, "Tastes like dirt."

"And you know what dirt tastes like?"

"… No."

"Drink it, you'll feel better. Passing out takes a lot out of ya and ya need your strength."

"Speaking of which," North said as he took the mug from Jack's hands and placed it on the side table, "What happened, Jack? You said you were going to see a friend and we find you passed out in the globe room mere hours later."

Jack looked at North with an unsure expression before his eyes suddenly widened, "Oh no," he gasped, he grabbed North's arm with urgency, "It's April! Her sister, she can't-"

"Jack, settle down!" North said as he tried to pry Jack off his arm, "Take a breath and tell us what happened."

"We were just playing," Jack began, his voice getting fast and shaky, "Me and April were just hanging out like we always do, and we weren't bothering anyone."

North handed Jack the mug of tea urging him to drink it in the hopes it would help calm the winter spirit. Jack managed a shaky sip before continuing, he told them everything that had happened from the two young spirits talking in the forest to the second Jack and Pippa landed back at the North Pole before passing out. For Jack it was a struggle to form his words properly as he frequently had to stop in order to drink his tea or take a deep breath to calm himself but the other Guardians waited and listened patiently until finally he was finished.

"I really owe it all to Pippa," Jack said as he stroked Pippa's head, the young wolf inching closer to Jack at his touch, "If it wasn't for her I could have been dead under Summer's blade, I would have died… Again."

"Oh, Sweet Tooth…" Tooth gasped.

"The girl ain't gonna get away with this!" Bunny snarled, "Why I aughta-"

"Bunny, settle," North said, "She will not get away with this but we cannot go after her in a rage such as this. We need a plan and a good one." North turned to Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder, "As for you, Jack, you need rest. We will take care of everything."

The others nodded, "Yeah mate," Bunny said, "We'll get her soon enough. C'mon, let's start forming a plan."

Bunny then bounded out of the room and the others soon followed as Tooth kissed Jack's forehead and Sandy signed he would give Jack good dreams while he rested. North stayed behind a few moments longer making sure that Jack would be alright before rising from his chair. He was then stopped as Jack placed a hand on his arm.

"North…" Jack began but his words failed him.

"What is it, Jack?"

The winter spirit struggled to find the words and as he failed he finally just asked, "Can I just go sit in the globe room to rest?"

"Why in the globe room may I ask?"

"Well… I mean you're all gonna be over there and I'm all the way over here. It's just… I mean…"

North chuckled, "Of course, Jack. Come on."

Jack smiled as he pulled himself out of the bed, Pippa then instantly beside him as he stood and North's arm around his shoulders to support him. They made their way down the hallways and to the globe room where the others had already gathered and brainstormed some planning techniques. North led Jack to the couch where the winter spirit settled in comfortably and Pippa lay on the floor next to the couch so as Jack could reach down and scratch her ear.

Jack dozed on and off through the other Guardians planning, at some point he vaguely remembered someone placing some material over him and when he fully registered what it was he smiled. Tooth had finished mending Jack's hoodie and had laid it over his upper half as he dozed and Jack managed to sit up for a short moment as he put the hoodie back on. Tooth could really do wonders with a needle and thread; it was as if the burn mark was never there with only the faintest line of thread to show any evidence of mending.

The Guardians were just over halfway through there perfect planning when Jack felt strong enough to move from the couch and he switched from there to join Pippa on the floor. The winter spirit quietly played on the floor with the young wolf scratching her belly, and rolling a snowball back and forth across the floor for Pippa to catch and bring back. Jack and the other Guardians did not seem to notice when North glanced over and watched Jack and Pippa play, a small smile on his lips before turning back to the others in the planning.

A yeti then suddenly rushed into the globe room grumbling frantically and the others quieted so as North could understand the yeti properly as it grumbled and growled.

North seemed confused, "What do you mean someone is here? Who is it?" The yeti grumbled some more and North's eyes widened, "What could she possibly want?"

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Mother Nature," North answered and to the yeti he said, "Send her in."

Jack was a little confused while the others were a mix of worry and surprise as the yeti quickly left. Jack had never met Mother Nature before, he had heard of her but had never seen nor spoken to her in all his immortal spirit years. He wondered what she would possibly be like, was she nice? Mean? Did she have the same control over seasons as Jack did with winter? He did not know but something told him he was going to find out soon enough.

The sound of faint arguing could be heard down the hall and it began to get closer as the sound of North's voice and another voice argued. North then suddenly barged in, his back to the others as another person tried to get past him.

"You cannot do this!" North bellowed, "You have no business here!"

"I am afraid I do," A woman's voice said, the new arrival pushing past North and revealing herself to the others, her eyes scanning the room before landing her gaze on Jack. "Jack Frost I presume?"

"Um… y-yeah" Jack replied rising from his spot on the floor and unsure of the situation, "I'm guessing you're Mother Nature?"

"You guess correctly. Do you know why I am here?"

"Actually, no."

"I have been informed of a recent situation involving you and the sisters of spring and summer. Do you know of such a situation?"

"I… Yes, I guess. Look, April and I were just hanging out and playing. We weren't doing anything wrong… Wait, how do you know anything about what happened?"

"Summer Breeze came to me earlier this day with a vivid explanation of an attack upon her by a wolf that she claims to be in your care."

"Wait, what? An attack upon her? Seriously? She attacked me! I did nothing to her."

"That is not the story I was told. Summer approached me in obviously a very upset manner and bite marks all along her arms in attempt to defend herself against your wolf which she says you forced to attack her."

"W-what?"

The other Guardians were utterly shocked, "Mother Nature!" North gasped, "Jack would do nothing of the sort! How dare you accuse him of such things?"

Mother Nature raised a hand to silence North, "Nevertheless the evidence is there and clear as can be. I cannot have this kind of violent influence occurring between the seasonal spirits because they cannot get along. Therefore I am taking possession of your hound immediately."

Jack could not believe what he just heard, his breath quickened as he stood in front of Pippa as the young wolf's ears drooped and her tail between her legs. "No you can't!" Jack cried, "She didn't do anything to Summer! She never touched her!"

"Then how would you explain the vicious bite marks on her arms that I myself witnessed with my own eyes?"

"S-she… she must have done something else; Pippa was just trying to protect me!"

North stepped forward putting himself between Mother Nature and Jack, "Mother Nature, Jack would never lie to us. If you just let him explain what really happened-"

"I know perfectly well what really happened. I need no further explanation, just containing the beast will do."

"Now hang on," Bunny said stepping forward, "This doesn't sit right at all. What right do you have to take the hound?"

"Keeping the innocent safe from attacks of a dangerous animal is a good enough right than any other when it is between the seasonal spirits and nothing more. Regardless of your Guardian stature, I control the laws of nature. This is one of them and it has been violated resulting in the consequences. I suggest you stand down, rabbit."

Bunny's paws curled into fists but he was at a loss for words, having no control over the situation same as the others as he stepped back. Tooth fluttered over to Jack, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Is there any way we could work something out?" Tooth suggested. Sandy formed symbols above his head, also trying to reason with Mother Nature but the woman just shook her head.

"No and no," Mother Nature said, "The only response I have is taking possession of the wolf and containing it, if not destroy it."

"Destroy her?" Jack shrieked he dropped to his knees wrapping his arms around Pippa as she nuzzled Jack's cheek. "You can't! I won't let you! I raised her, she's mine. You can't take her from me. She's innocent!"

Tears began welling up in the winter spirit's eyes as he held Pippa tightly and Mother Nature stepped towards Jack, beginning to get frustrated. "If you do not hand over the hound willingly, I will have no choice but to take it by force. This is your first and only warning."

North quickly stepped in front Jack, blocking Mother Nature from passing, "This is unacceptable!" North bellowed, "Pippa is trustworthy and tame, there is no reason to take her."

"I did not say I enjoyed this job, North. Stand aside before I destroy you as well. None of you have any control over this; you have no rights in this! Now hand it over!"

"Mother Nature, please-"

"I will hear no more! Hand the hound over. Now!"

North fell silent at Mother Nature's force, he felt so useless and he did not like it one bit. The woman was right, none of them had any control or say over the situation but they could do nothing. North could do nothing. But one thing. He would hate himself forever for this.

He silently cursed to himself as he turned and looked down at the winter spirit holding the young wolf. Tears streamed down Jack's face as he clung to Pippa refusing to let go and Pippa quietly whined. Without a word, North stepped towards Jack and attempted to uncurl the boy's fingers from Pippa's fur.

"No… No…" Jack muttered as North freed Jack's hands and it took everything inside the old man not to look at the devastated look on Jack's innocent face.

With a quick glance from North, Bunny caught on to North's actions as he stepped forward and reluctantly grabbed hold of Jack, wrapping his arms around the immortal boy. It was then that Jack fully realized what was happening and all hell broke loose inside of him.

"W-what? No… No! North, what are you doing? No! Please you can't! No, let go of me! North!"

North grit his teeth in attempt to block out Jack's desperate cries as the immortal boy fought against Bunny's hold but the rabbit held on tightly taking whatever beating Jack was unintentionally giving him. North took hold of Pippa's collar and lead the wolf to the anxiously waiting Mother Nature. North passed Pippa to the woman and North dared a look up at her, his face full of rage and devastation.

"I hope you know you are breaking the boy's heart," North said, "Remember that."

"As I said before, "Mother Nature replied, "I do not enjoy the job but it must be done. I thank you for your cooperation."

North did not respond but looked down with a pained expression as Mother Nature turned and walked back down the hallways with Pippa in tow. North turned back to the others as Jack fought against Bunny and Tooth and Sandy stood and hovered in shocked, Tooth covering her mouth with her hands while Sandy stared at the floor.

Jack finally managed to elbow Bunny right in the face forcing the rabbit's arms free and Jack broke loose dashing down the hallway where Mother Nature and Pippa had gone.

"Pippa!" Jack cried as he reached the door and flung it open but Mother Nature and the young wolf had disappeared into thin air. Jack stood completely still, his whole body trembling as he choked on his sobs.

The other's had quickly followed him save for Bunny who went slowly as he rubbed his face with a paw though he did not blame the kid in the slightest. North was the first to step forward towards Jack, reaching a hand out to touch the winter spirit's shoulder but Jack whirled around and glared at North.

"How could you?" Jack cried, "You let her go!"

"Jack…" North began, "I had no choice. I am sorry."

"You let her take Pippa away! She's gone and it's your fault!"

"Jack, you must understand-"

"No… I hate you!"

North could understand Jack's anger but the words still hurt as the tears and pained look on Jack's face had already shattered North's heart and those words just ground those pieces into dust. Jack did not stay a moment longer as he pushed himself into the sky and took off not daring to even look back. North watched Jack fly off until he was nothing but an invisible dot in the sky and it was only then that North allowed himself to crumble as he stumbled to the windowsill and hastily sat down, burying his face in his hands.

_**Whoa... so that was intense... Can't really say much now. Imagine Mother Nature as you like, there's too many versions to keep up with so imagine what you will. Until next time!**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**I'm back! Miss me? I know I'm a totally terrible person for even doing such a thing in the previous chapter! How could I? I'm so cruel! But admit it, y'all loved it! By the way I have not yet read any of the 'Guardians of Childhood' books so that said I know nothing of anyone's backstories and/or connections. For example, Mother Nature. My version right now has no connection to Pitch as his daughter as I have only heard/read of it from other fanfiction stories yet I do not know enough to really place it in my own. Anyways, now that I've got y'all riled up here it is! Enjoy!**_

April's breathe heaved and panted as she held her knife in one hand and attempted to unhook the hinges of the door that was currently holding her hostage in her own home. She pried and wedged the hinges with her knife over and over again for what felt like hours with only one thought in her mind. _Must find Jack! Have to warn him! Help him! _

The first hinge had finally come free and without even a single glance at the piece of metal, April immediately began working on the next hinge just as frantically and determined as before. She knew she had to hurry if she was to reach Jack at all and having no idea if Summer had already gotten to him or not. She prayed the other Guardians would help him long enough for April to find her sister and stop this. April grit her teeth as she pried on the hinge with her knife, coming loose ever so slightly with each tug until finally the hinge fell loose and clattered to the ground at April's feet. April stood there panting for the briefest moment knowing that the job was far from done as she placed the knife back in its sheath and April braced both her hands on the wood of the door. She concentrated and focused as much as possible, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration and the ground beneath her feet began to shift as green vines broke through the ground and weaved themselves into the tiniest cracks of the door. The vines thickened as they weaved and then just as suddenly they stopped, April's hands were flat against the door and in a split second her fingers clenched in and the vines made one strong pull, the door shattering and collapsing to the floor. April did not even flinch.

The second each piece had fallen to the floor, April was off like a shot as she flung open the front door and took off as fast as she could. Her speed quickened as the grass beneath her feet flourished and pushed her feet fast and forward earning her speed as she ran. She then felt the presence of her sister, the heat marking the air with her presence and April leaped into the trees as she flung from branch to branch. She stopped briefly, her eyes quickly scanning the area until she spotted a head of flowing vibrant red hair on the forest floor dashing through the forest.

April leaped through the trees and gained speed as she began to catch up to Summer. April brandished her knife as she took one final leap and tackled Summer to the ground, Summer yelping from the sudden attack as April slammed her sister to the ground on her back and April's knife at her throat.

"What is this?" Summer demanded, though she was hesitant to move her head any closer to April's knife.

"I won't let you hurt Jack!" April growled, "You won't get anywhere near him! Do you understand?"

To April's surprise, Summer then suddenly snickered as she sneered at April, "Oh sister, the deeds already been done."

"What are you saying? What did you do? Answer me!"

"See for yourself, sister. Look at my arms."

April at first hesitated but then glanced to the side at one of Summer's arms and slightly cringed when she saw vicious bite marks all along her sister's arms. She knew herself that marks like those could only be made by a canine with large fangs. Such as a wolf.

"What did you do?" April demanded.

Summer sneered, "All I did was provoke a pack of wolves in the far wilderness and claimed it to be Jack's wolf that did it. Mother Nature should be on her way to the North Pole now. You know what happens after that. I myself think I am quite the actress, don't you?"

April was shocked, "How could you?"

"What are you going to do now? There's no stopping any of this and you know it."

April slapped her sister across her face, earning a shocked expression to fall on Summer's face as April stood and glared at Summer. "I will sure as hell try." April said and she then pointed her knife at Summer, "And just so you know, if you ever try to cause harm to Jack and I again I swear you will not like the end result. Understood?"

Summer did not respond as she stared at April, holding one hand to the cheek that April had slapped. "I will take that as a yes." April said and she sheathed her knife as she turned and ran leaving Summer on the ground as she tried to process what just happened.

April's legs pounded as she ran as fast as she could, the ground pushing her feet forward and her eyes were kept straight forward and determined. She knew where she had to go. The North Pole. It was where Jack told her he was staying and Summer had threatened that Mother Nature was on her way there. She knew she had to get there as soon as possible, no matter how long it took, how much her legs would hurt afterwards, she had to get there.

At the North Pole itself, everyone was a complete wreck.

It had been many hours since Jack had flown off to the Moon knows where and the guardians where hardly in a state of mind to come up with any plan or decision to find him or leave the immortal boy be. No one knew what to do but stay where they were and attempt to calm down yet even that plan was not working out very well.

Tooth fluttered back and forth all over the place, rambling about how horrible the situation was and if Jack was going to be okay, especially his teeth. Bunny paced across the room, his hands clasped behind his back and his head cast down with frustration and worry all over his face as he remained silent. North sat hunched in his chair, his face buried in his hands and his shoulders shook with every word he spoke. Sandy stood next to him with a hand on one shaking shoulder and a worried expression as he signed various symbols above his head in hoping responses to North's words.

"You heard him, Sandy," North said, "The boy _hates_ me! What am I going to do?"

Sandy signed symbols as he tapped North's arm with his other hand in order to make him look at the golden man. A snowflake, sad face, and a clock.

"He is upset and needs time, yes I know that. Who doesn't know that?" North buried his face back into his hands, "But he ran away! What if something else happens to him? What if-"

Sandy frantically tapped North's arm and North managed a look back up at Sandy. A Snowflake, U-turn signal, Santa hat, Band-Aid, and a teddy bear.

"Do you really think so?" North asked with a somewhat hopeful look but it soon fell as he crumbled once more, "But that won't happen for a long time, I took away one of his best friends in the whole world! I am a terrible father to him!"

Sandy silently sighed having almost no idea what to do anymore as he too hung his head, it only lasted a short moment before his head shot up and he tapped North's arm once again just as frantically as before. North glanced up as Sandy signed symbols. A clock and a peace sign.

North actually managed a small smile as he then nodded at the golden man, "You're right," North said, "You're absolutely right, my friend."

Sandy smiled back as he shrugged as if to say _"I know,"_ making the old man quietly chuckle.

It was then that the sound of yeti's grumbling and growling caught the attention of all the guardians followed by the faint sound of a young girl's voice. Bunny stopped his pacing to glance at the doorway as Tooth hovered in place and North and Sandy glanced at each other slightly confused. A yeti rushed in and frantically grumbled and growled with large gestures as North rose from his seat.

"What is going on?" North asked and the yeti grumbled some more, only North understood that his sentence was interrupted as a young girl pushed past the yeti and fell to her knees, bracing her hands to the floor to hold herself up.

"Crikey!" Bunny gasped as he rushed to the girl's side, "You alright?"

"Y-yes," The girl replied as Bunny helped her stand and she took a few deep breathes, "Please I need to see Jack."

"Jack?" North echoed, "What business do you have with him?"

"Please, my name is April Showers. My sister attacked him; I need to know he is alright. Mother Nature is on her way-"

"Mother Nature has already been here."

"W-what?"

North sighed as he hung his head and turned to head back to his chair, "She claimed that your sister had been attacked and took possession of his cherished wolf as punishment… he ran away in a rage. We don't know where he is."

April took a brief second to process what she was told, "I'm too late…" she sighed.

Tooth slowly fluttered down as she spoke, "We don't even know where to look for him… he's very good at hiding we've found."

April was quiet for a few moments before coming to a realization and she rushed towards North, "I can help you! I know everywhere he would go. I can help find him and make all of this right again!"

North turned to face the spring spirit, "How can you help make things right? I do not see how that is even remotely possible."

"How long ago did Mother Nature take Pippa away?"

Sandy answered her question by forming an endlessly spinning clock indicating that it had been many hours ago. April nodded in understanding, "If I can get to Mother Nature within another twenty-four hours, I can testify against my sister and set things right. Please let me help."

The Guardians were quiet for a few moments, glancing back and forth to each other as they considered April's words. In the end, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy turned to North and the usually jolly man sighed as he turned to April. "You say you know everywhere Jack would go. Care to elaborate?"

April smiled, "I'll need a map."

Meanwhile, in the farthest most deepest and coldest parts of the arctic, Jack Frost stood in the middle of a strong blizzard. After flying as far as he could away from the North Pole, Jack had continued to fly with tears streaming down his face and freezing as they fell from his face and down to the unforgiving ground far below. He furiously scrubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie so as to try and clearly see ahead but it did not good as his eyes just filled up once more and the tears continued to fall.

With Mother Nature having just taken Pippa away, Jack thought they couldn't have gone far and searched as far as he could across the globe and as far as he was able. As soon as it got to warm of a climate, Jack was forced to turn back and take a brief moment to recover in the cooler climate before taking off once more. He couldn't let Pippa be taken away with the words of Mother Nature's promise of destroying her! Jack searched and searched but found nothing. If Mother Nature resided in a much warmer climate then Jack could not follow though he tried his hardest. There was no sign of them anywhere within Jack's reach.

Finally Jack could take no more as he landed where he stood now in the arctic. He stood for a few silent minutes, his breath heaving with the heavy rise and fall of his chest. Finally he let out a frustrated scream, slamming the end of his staff to the ground causing all of the snow and ice around him to erupt into the air, the wind catching it all and blowing all around him. The wind picked up even more creating a strong blizzard and Jack stood in the middle of it all, one hand grasping his staff and the other clenched in a fist at his side. Jack gritted his teeth, an action that Tooth would not approve of, as he squeezed his eyes shut in attempt to stop anymore tears from falling down his pale face.

He didn't know what else to do. Everything that had happened mere hours before had now come crashing down on him, seemingly crushing him from the inside out. What he could not entirely process was the fact that not only did Mother Nature take Pippa away, North had allowed it to happen. He had even been the first to step up and had actually taken Pippa out of the winter spirit's grasp without so much as a single glance or second thought towards Jack. Why would North do such a thing? He knew how much Pippa meant to Jack so why did he let it happen?

Jack had been told that North thought of him as his very own son, but is that the sort of thing father's do? Jack did not think so. A parent would not so easily give up their child's furry best friend just to please someone else they hardly knew. So why did North?

The blizzard grew stronger and blew harder and harsher with each thought that passed through Jack's mind. In his state he could not control his emotions let alone the blizzard that followed with it and as Jack thought more about his current problem, the worse the blizzard got for it was nowhere near to getting any better.

The answer finally came to him and he did not like it but it was the only logical explanation in Jack's mind. North didn't truly care about Jack; he must have only taken Jack in out of pity for the winter spirit. The same probably went for Pippa when Jack first found her as a week old pup. It was all out of pity. He didn't really care about either of them. So when Mother Nature came and demanded Pippa, Jack supposed it must have been easy for North to give her up.

Well no more! Jack did not want to be with anyone if all they were doing pitied him. He wanted a family, a real family and not a fake one. If that's the way they wanted things then fine! He would just stay out here where none of them could pity him any longer.

Jack began to let out a choked sob but he then raised his staff and with a loud scream, slammed it down again giving the blizzard another extra boost though it hardly needed it. Jack lowered himself to his knees as the tiniest tears escaped from beneath his eye lids. Finally, Jack gave up trying to hold it in as he let the tears fall and he cried with choked sobs, his shoulders shaking with every breath. Jack buried his face in his arms as he toppled on his side to the ground and curled in on himself, gripping his staff with one hand and burying his tear covered face with his arms.

Jack did not know how long he lay there crying and nor did he care. It wasn't too long though, that as Jack cried the immortal boy soon drifted off, his sobs becoming quiet and soon enough he had cried himself to sleep.

_**Wow it's been forever since I've posted a chapter! It's going to be just as long of a wait for the next chapter as this one was. Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Whew so sorry for the wait guys, inspiration is really hard to find lately. It's very difficult when your schedule is full. I swear this adventure is almost over! Wow I take forever to get through some things don't I? Well anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this!**_

Finding Jack proved to be much harder than the Guardians anticipated as they had set out to find the winter spirit. April had shown them all the locations she could possibly think of where Jack had gone marking down the locations and rough coordinates on a map. With that done, the other Guardians divided the locations evenly amongst themselves and planned to head out on their search. North then handed out hand held radios to ensure they could get in touch with one another should one of them find something. The radios were specially designed by North with the features of covering across the world distances and were strictly designed for the use of the Guardians and other spirits; no humans could interfere with their signal or know if it was even there.

With the Guardians plan of action set, April announced her leave and set herself on her own mission to find Mother Nature. A brief rest was all April needed to be at full energy once more as she took off at racing speed, leaving the Guardians to begin their search. Bunny took to his tunnels while North traveled by sleigh and snow globe. Sandy formed an airplane from his sand and Tooth took off with a handful of her mini fairies following close behind.

They searched as many locations as possible and came up with nothing. Once they had searched a location, they checked in with each other verifying their findings - or lack of for that matter. It seemed like forever and North was worrying more than he ever was before. The day had finally faded into night and the others were near considering giving up the search until morning to start over and for a split second, North almost considered the same.

Moments before they were about to call off the search, North's radio began frantically beeping as the screen flashed a yellow letter S meaning that Sandy was contacting him and the others which only meant one thing. Sandy had found something!

North brought the radio closer, "Did everyone get that?" North asked.

"Roger that." Bunny reported.

"Same here," Tooth said, "What now?"

"Sandy, turn on the locator on your radio," North instructed, "We'll meet up with you."

A few seconds later a digital map showed up on the screen with a flashing yellow dot showing where Sandy was located. "Let's go!" North bellowed as he snapped the reigns to the sleigh and sped off through the sky.

Many minutes later North arrived somewhere along the edge of the arctic and landed the sleigh to the ground. He glanced around the area before spotting Sandy standing not far away on a cliff edge looking worried as he looked over at the other side. The golden man appeared not to have heard North arrive as the larger man wandered over and Sandy then glanced at North with the same worried look.

"What is it, Sandy?" North asked.

Sandy just turned back to the cliff edge and North followed his gaze and almost wished he hadn't. Far in the distance, a blizzard could be seen as the wind blew and snow and ice was thrown into the sky creating a barrier that was impossible to get through. The sound of heavy feet and fluttering wings could be heard behind them and the two turned to see Tooth and Bunny approaching them.

"What the heck is going…?" Bunny began but stopped as he too spotted the blizzard, "… Oh."

"Is Jack in there?" Tooth asked, her voice slightly shaken with worry. "Is he alright?"

Sandy formed a snowflake and the letter Z indicating that Jack was asleep somewhere in the blizzard.

"How do you know?" Bunny asked.

Sandy sent a trail of dream sand towards the blizzard and as it neared, the sand tried to break through the barrier but failed over and over again, wanting nothing more than to give a sleeping child the sweet dreams they so desperately deserved. Sandy finally pulled the dream sand back to him even though the sand fought to complete its mission.

"Jack is in that storm," North quietly said, "If he stays asleep then the storm may die down and we can get to him."

"What do we do?" Tooth asked.

"We just have to wait."

"Oh great." Bunny huffed.

Meanwhile somewhere secluded high up in the vast mountains, Mother Nature sits graciously on a florally designed throne chair. Not only was it designed to look floral but from the carved vines and grass, various flowers and leaves grew from within the throne giving it a luscious lively look. Everywhere within the room had some form of various plants, flowers, and leaves covering the room like a garden. Off to the side of Mother Nature's throne, Summer Breeze stood nearby with her arms crossed with slight impatience. Her arms had been cleaned and bound with bandages to keep out dirt and infection though they would heal within the week anyways.

Summer sighed, "I do not see why we must wait so long. You've seen the proof, what more do you need?"

"Be silent, Summer," Mother Nature warned, "You know the laws and should know to abide by them. We wait until the next dawn, then and only then will I proceed. For now I would prefer you keep your complaints to yourself."

Summer's jaw clenched, "Fine."

The room fell silent once more but it only lasted a mere moment before the large stone doors at the end of the room swung open and standing in the doorway was April Showers as her breathe heaved yet she remained standing tall and confident. Mother Nature rose from her throne, staring somewhat surprisingly at April as she stepped down from her throne. April took a deep breath as she strode forward, determination pushing her with every step.

April came to a stop a few feet away from Mother Nature and Mother Nature stared at her, "What is your purpose here, April Showers?" Mother Nature asked

"Mother Nature, I come as a witness to the recent situation regarding my sister and accusations against Jack Frost." April replied and Summer's breath caught in her throat, nervous and almost afraid.

"A witness you say?" Mother Nature said as she glanced questioningly at Summer who gulped.

Summer attempted to cut in, "This is crazy, April can't possibly prove anything."

"You would know this how?"

"I… She-"

April stepped up, "I can prove Jack's and Pippa's innocence."

Mother Nature looked at April, interested, "How do you intend to prove this?"

April paused for a moment, she began to get nervous as she thought over what she was about to say. It was now or never, "I want you to see what I saw within the past twenty-four hours. My memories within that time are my own and I give you full permission to view them as if they were yours."

Mother Nature seemed taken aback as Summer gasped and it took a moment for the two to recover. "Are you absolutely sure you wish for me to access your mind?" Mother Nature asked.

"Yes."

"Do you understand the terms of these actions and the punishment for altered thoughts?"

"If my thoughts and memories were altered I would not be asking you to do this."

"Very well, give me your hand." April did as she was told as she held out her hand and Mother Nature wrapped both her hands around April's hand.

Summer sighed in annoyance, "This is absurd!"

"Be silent, Miss Breeze!" Mother Nature snapped and Summer instantly quieted, Mother Nature turned back to April, "Now just focus on the particular times you wish to relive. It will only take a few moments, are you ready?"

"Yes."

Both Mother Nature and April closed their eyes and April concentrated on her memories and within second, the memories began.

"_I actually got you! I can't believe I actually got you this time!"_

_"Bunny baked some carrot muffins for breakfast this morning; he gave me a few for us to have. Want one?"_

"_Oh yes please! Mmm you can really taste the carrots."_

"_C'mon twinkle toes!"_

"_Twinkle toes? Look who's talking chicken legs!"_

"_I do not have chicken legs! Jack, no fair!"_

"_Come and get me!"_

"_WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? How dare you manipulate my sister into your selfish and meaningless actions? You stay far away from us, do you understand?"_

"_Jack!"_

"_April, are you okay?"_

"_Summer, please! Don't hurt him!"_

"_You can't do this, Summer! You don't know what you're doing!"_

"_Who needed winter anyways? I didn't."_

_GRRRR! BARK, BARK!_

"_Pippa!"_

"_Get this thing off of me!"_

"_I think it's time you leave."_

"_This is not over. Not by a long shot."_

"_Jack, are you alright?"_

"_Get out of here; it'll be worse if you don't. Just go."_

Just like that the memories were over and Mother Nature instantly released April's hand seemingly shocked as April lowered her hand. Mother Nature gasped, "Oh my…"

Back in the Arctic's, Jack's blizzard had continued on for a long time and did not appear to be getting better anytime soon. Eventually, even North had to agree that they all could not stay and wait. They had their own jobs to do and little time to do them. So they agreed on taking shifts to watch the blizzard and wait for any sign of it dying down. North offered to take the first shift and was almost surprised when Bunny stepped in to take the shift with him. Tooth and Sandy would take the next shift giving them time to do their evening jobs and they would switch off when they got back.

"You are sure about this, Bunny?" North asked after Tooth and Sandy had left, "You hate the cold."

Bunny waved the old man's words off, "Nah I'll be fine. You've been worrying your beard off about the kid; somebody needs to make sure you don't go running into that mess of a storm."

"I would not go running into… Actually you're right."

"Of course I am."

North sighed, "What do you expect me to do, Bunny? It's hard enough that I caused him to run off in the first place and now we sit here waiting for this blizzard to end. Any other normal child would maybe storm off to their room or be coddled by their parents or something like that."

"Problem is, mate, Jack's not any other normal child."

"I know."

The two Guardians soon made themselves comfortable as they retreated to sitting in the sleigh, North pulling out a deck of cards from his coat pocket and a game of Go-Fish began. After many rounds of Go-Fish, Crazy Eights, Poker, and other various card games, Bunny's ears suddenly perked up as he looked up and his nose slightly twitched. North noticed the change as he looked up as well. "What is it?" North asked but Bunny quickly shushed him, the giant rabbit's ears twitching with each sound.

"I think…" Bunny began, "I think the storm's died down."

"How so?"

"You hear that?"

North took a moment to listen; he heard nothing, "No."

"Exactly my point. There's no wind."

North then realized what Bunny was saying and the two quickly rushed over to the cliff edge, their card game abandoned. They looked over the edge and scanned the area for any sign of Jack and the last remaining bits of snow and ice were slowly coming to a stop. By the time everything had come to a stop, all that was left was a light breeze and the two quickly scanned the clearing.

"There!" Bunny pointed to the middle of the clearing where a patch of blue could be seen against the white ground.

Bunny leaped from the ledge and bounded down the side and North quickly followed as he steadied himself and his feet slid down the side. They both landed at the bottom and without a single hesitation, ran towards the middle of the clearing where Jack lay curled on his side, his hood was up and it hid his face from view while he clutched his staff in one hand. A sprinkled layer of snow covered the most part of Jack's body and North kneeled down next to him, gently brushed the snow off while Bunny did a quick look for any visible injuries.

"He doesn't seem to be hurt," Bunny reported, "the kid fell asleep like this?"

"I believe so." North replied as he ever so gently turned Jack over and lifted him up into his arms, cradling Jack with one arm while the other hand brushed the remaining snow off of the winter spirit's face and hood. Tear stains were shown on Jack's cheeks and the bags under his eyes were slightly puffy from so much crying.

For a while, everything was quiet. Eventually after a few moments, Jack's eyes slowly fluttered and blinked open. He seemed somewhat confused as his eyes wandered around his surroundings and then his gaze landed on North and the immortal boy just stared. "N-North?"

"Yes, Jack."

"What are you… I thought… I can't…" Jack stuttered and as he stared up at North, Jack's eyes began filling with tears and he could not stop himself as one rolled down his tear stained cheek. North gently brushed the tear away and Jack broke down as more tears fell. "North, I'm so sorry…"

"Shhh It's alright, Jack," North pulled the winter spirit close to him as he stroked the back of Jack's head, "Everything's going to be alright."

There was no reply from Jack and North did not expect one. Instead, North just held Jack close to him as the winter spirit wrapped his arms around North's neck burying his face in the old man's shoulder and North rose to his feet. North turned to Bunny, "I need you to contact Tooth and Sandy, let them know what's happened. I'm taking Jack home."

"Will do, mate," Bunny replied, "You be careful out there."

North nodded and with that Bunny opened up a tunnel and leaped in, the tunnel disappearing at Bunny's departure. North carried Jack over to the waiting sleigh and stepped in, keeping a hold of Jack with one arm as he held the reigns in the other and within seconds they sped off into the sky. Throughout the entire trip, not once did North set Jack down or let go and frankly, neither did Jack as the immortal boy clung to North and the old man was perfectly fine with that.

_**Okay I sort of lied, there's probably one chapter left then I swear I'll make everything happy again! Hope this helps keep you all busy for a while! Until next time!**_


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